While walking one scorching afternoon, I took a turn onto a side street, seeking some shade. Strangely, I was alone. Nearby, a children’s playground sat empty, with its slide too hot for any child to touch. The only noise came from cicadas buzzing in the heat, making the city feel eerily quiet.
“It’s too hot for anyone to be out. It feels like a ‘Silent Summer,’” stated Koji Nagahata, a professor from Fukushima University who studies soundscapes, or the sounds of our environment. He pointed out how global warming affects what we hear around us.
Nagahata has tracked changes in Japan’s sound since the Edo Period (1603-1867). He discovered that, over three decades, haiku poetry has shifted away from nature sounds like birds and rain, moving instead toward the noise of everyday life—human voices and traffic. This transformation accelerated in the 1980s. He believes this shift is tied to a growing disconnection from nature and sound.
Interestingly, many people today can identify the sound of evening cicadas, yet struggle to recognize other types. This hints at a wider trend: our sensitivity to the natural world is fading, just as Rachel Carson warned over 60 years ago in her landmark book, Silent Spring. In it, she painted a vivid picture of a world where nature goes silent due to pollution.
Today, with global warming looming large, we might be facing a “new silence.” Just in that quiet alley, the loudest sound was the hum of air conditioners struggling against the heat.
Looking at the broader picture, a recent survey indicated that over 70% of people feel more anxious about unusual weather patterns and climate change. This reflects a growing awareness that our environments—both natural and urban—are changing and may impact our health and wellbeing.
As we navigate these shifts, we might consider not just how climate affects us today but how we can reconnect with the sounds of nature that once enriched our lives.
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Opinion,Vox Populi,Asahi Shimbun,Japan,news
