TOKYO: Wind and light rain over Japan's stricken nuclear-power reactors were blowing from the northwest out to the Pacific Ocean on Monday, the weather agency said, sparing Tokyo from low levels of radiation.
The weather is important for gauging if traces of radiation leaking from the plant will reach heavily populated areas or enter the food chain, although local authorities and health experts say the leaks so far pose no threats to human health.
Since Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, the wind has blown mostly out to the Pacific.
The damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) , is about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
Some 10-20 mm (0.4-0.8 inch) of rain is forecast in the area over the next 24 hours. The Meteorological Agency in Fukushima prefecture said the rain did not pose a threat to human health.
Three hundred engineers have been battling inside the danger zone to try to cool down the reactors which were ravaged by the quake and tsunami on March 11.
Officially, at least 8,450 people were killed, with 12,931 more missing. But police said on Sunday they feared more than 15,000 people had been killed in Miyagi prefecture alone.
Winds near the plant will blow as fast as 3 metres per second (6 miles per hour/11 kph), the Meteorological Agency in Fukushima said.
On Saturday, traces of radiation exceeding national safety standards were found in milk from a farm about 30 km (18 miles)from the plant and in spinach grown in neighbouring Ibaraki prefecture, the first discovery of contaminated food during the crisis.
Tiny levels of radioactive iodine have also been found in tap water in Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities. Radiation has also been found in dust in the greater city area.
Many tourists and expatriates have already left and many residents are staying indoors.
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The weather is important for gauging if traces of radiation leaking from the plant will reach heavily populated areas or enter the food chain, although local authorities and health experts say the leaks so far pose no threats to human health.
Since Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, the wind has blown mostly out to the Pacific.
The damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, run by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) , is about 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo.
Some 10-20 mm (0.4-0.8 inch) of rain is forecast in the area over the next 24 hours. The Meteorological Agency in Fukushima prefecture said the rain did not pose a threat to human health.
Three hundred engineers have been battling inside the danger zone to try to cool down the reactors which were ravaged by the quake and tsunami on March 11.
Officially, at least 8,450 people were killed, with 12,931 more missing. But police said on Sunday they feared more than 15,000 people had been killed in Miyagi prefecture alone.
Winds near the plant will blow as fast as 3 metres per second (6 miles per hour/11 kph), the Meteorological Agency in Fukushima said.
On Saturday, traces of radiation exceeding national safety standards were found in milk from a farm about 30 km (18 miles)from the plant and in spinach grown in neighbouring Ibaraki prefecture, the first discovery of contaminated food during the crisis.
Tiny levels of radioactive iodine have also been found in tap water in Tokyo, one of the world's largest cities. Radiation has also been found in dust in the greater city area.
Many tourists and expatriates have already left and many residents are staying indoors.
toi
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