It may seem like Kyoto has gotten cooler recently, but that's only because of the unusually hot summer. Data from the Japan Meteorological Agency shows that Kyoto City's temperature in September 2025 was the third-highest on record. The intense heat has also damaged the city's street trees.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, Kyoto City's average September temperature was 27.6°C, the third-highest on record after 2024 (28.6°C) and 2023 (27.7°C), and on par with August 50 years ago. All 31 days of the month were above average. A strong summer high pressure system led to continued good weather, and long-term global warming is also thought to have played a role.
On Shimei-dori Street in Kyoto City's Kita Ward, maple trees planted along the sidewalk have been shedding their brown, withered leaves since mid-September, forcing residents along the road to clean up the mess. According to the city, in recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in trees shedding their leaves before the autumn foliage season.
According to the Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden (Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City), deciduous trees normally store energy through photosynthesis to survive winter, and then as autumn progresses and photosynthetic efficiency declines, the leaves turn red and shed. However, if they are damaged by extreme heat, they are unable to maintain their leaves before they can store up enough energy, and so they shed their leaves. This trend is said to be getting stronger every year as global warming progresses.
According to the Kyoto Regional Meteorological Observatory, Kyoto Prefecture is expected to continue experiencing very high temperatures into October.
