An elderly woman in her 80s in Japan, hoping to cool off from the heat, reportedly turned on the air conditioner but may have set it to heating mode instead, causing the air conditioner to function as a heater. This led to her collapsing indoors. Although her family found her and rushed her to the hospital, she could not be revived. The preliminary cause of death was determined to be heatstroke leading to shock and heart failure.
According to Japanese media reports, the accident occurred on the evening of the 5th in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture. An 88-year-old woman was found collapsed inside her residence and was already unresponsive before being taken to the hospital. Despite emergency resuscitation at the hospital, she was pronounced dead. The woman’s family revealed that, at the time, the heater inside the house was operating, and they suspect she accidentally set the air conditioner to heating mode, causing the indoor temperature to rise excessively and resulting in this tragedy.
The local police stated that the preliminary cause of death was heatstroke leading to shock and heart failure, but a more detailed investigation is required to confirm the cause.
According to available data, during the summer of 2024, there were 1,233 cases of people being treated for heatstroke in the local area, but no deaths had been recorded. This incident has once again brought social attention to home safety and air conditioner usage among the elderly.
Experts point out that elderly individuals are less sensitive to temperature changes, and with declining body temperature regulation, they may not notice when the room temperature becomes dangerously high. This is especially true for those living alone, who are at greater risk of similar crises. It is recommended that family members and care providers regularly check the home environment's temperature and air conditioner settings, and, if necessary, install remote monitoring systems to prevent such tragedies from recurring.