Climate change is making extreme weather events more common, and people’s daily lives can change in unexpected ways. Primary example: parts of the US and UK are currently experiencing brutal heat waves, with temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius in London on Tuesday. A warning issued by Nintendo also states that playing a Switch console in this weather can cause it to overheat.
“If you use the Nintendo Switch in a hot place, the temperature of the headunit may rise,” says a tweet from Nintendo sent on July 11th. The company recommends using the Nintendo Switch in environments between 5 and 35 degrees Celsius. A support page linked in the tweet states, “The main unit may get hot during charging or while the main unit is operating,” and states that this “could cause low temperature burns if your skin is in direct contact with a hot part for extended periods of time”.
The warning on Nintendo’s Japanese website says that the Switch, Switch Lite and Switch OLED are vulnerable to overheating. However, this warning appears to be available only on Nintendo’s Japanese website.
The tweet was sent in Japanese amid Japan’s worst heatwave since 1875. It also took on new meaning last week as temperatures in the UK soared to sweltering levels. Britain is experiencing its hottest summer on record, as forest fires spread in France and Spain. The heatwave has already caused train delays in London and the short-term closure of the airport.