{
  "id": 5903633,
  "title": "Cold comfort: Japan’s Hokkaido battles cockroach surge amid global warming",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/06/cold-comfort-japans-hokkaido-battles-cockroach-surge-amid-global",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-06T04:00:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3366338/cold-comfort-japans-hokkaido-battles-cockroach-surge-amid-global-warming"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the last five decades, Makoto Watanabe, a resident of Hokkaido, has never encountered a cockroach before. However, recent reports indicate that these insects are taking advantage of global warming to establish themselves in a region where winters were once too harsh for large colonies. A university student in Tokyo 30 years ago, Watanabe now finds the cold climate that used to deter insects as an advantage. But Hokkaido has undergone significant changes. The average daytime temperature has risen from 23 degrees Celsius (73.4 degrees Fahrenheit) in the past, to 29 degrees Celsius in cities like Sapporo during summer. This is 1.5 degrees higher than three decades ago. Locally, some summer temperatures have even reached 35 degrees Celsius, a figure that was once considered impossible. Winter temperatures have also become milder, with the mean average dropping from minus 3.7 degrees Celsius in January 1996 to as low as minus 2 degrees Celsius this year. Dr. Koichi Goka, head of the Invasive Species Research Team at Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies, explains that the \"heat island\" effect in big cities, along with modern heating units and insulation, has created comfortable environments for insects. This \"heat island\" effect has helped cockroaches, which typically inhabit tropical or subtropical regions, adapt to Hokkaido's climate. Three varieties of cockroaches have been identified to withstand Hokkaido's winters: the black cockroach, the brown-banded variety, and the Japanese cockroach. Goka believes that a tipping point has been reached, making it difficult to eradicate cockroaches now, as they have already found a foothold in buildings and homes. Pest extermination services in Hokkaido have seen a surge in requests, with an exterminator reporting a 50% increase since the beginning of this year, expecting a doubling of call-outs by the end of the year.",
  "summary": "In all his five decades of living in Hokkaido, Makoto Watanabe cannot recall ever being confronted by a cockroach. But he admits being alarmed by reports that the despised insects are taking advantage of global warming to gain a foothold in a part of Japan where winters were previously considered too hostile for large colonies to emerge. “When I was a university student in Tokyo 30 years ago, I…",
  "key_points": [
    "Hokkaido residents never saw cockroaches until recently.",
    "Average daytime temperature rose 6 degrees Celsius in 30 years.",
    "Cockroach extermination requests doubled in Hokkaido this year."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}