Korea has seen more rain in late August and early September than during the entire monsoon season from June to July. The southern region was hit particularly hard. Rains at the end of summer are not unusual, but it is rare for them to be heavier than the actual rainy season. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, accumulated rainfall amounted to 8,879.5 mm in 40 observatories in Jeolla Province, Gyeongsang Province and Jeju Island. The south saw rainfall of 22.2 mm a day on average from Aug.26 to Sept. 4. During the 34-day rainy season from June 21 to July 24, rainfall there was only 11,888 mm or 8.7 mm a day, meaning the last 10 days were 2.5 times wetter than the monsoon.
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Children go to school in the autumn rain in Daegu on Wednesday. /Yonhap
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Meteorologists say the late heavy rains are an unusual phenomenon. Min Kyung-duk, a professor emeritus at the Department of Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences of Kyungpook National University, said the North Pacific high pressure should normally weaken and recede from the Korean Peninsula by now. But the anticyclone is still hovering over the peninsula, colliding with cold air from the north to bring heavy rains.
Some pundits attribute the unusual rains to global warming. Prof. Ha Kyung-ja at the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences of Pusan National University said they fell because of an increase in the amount of vapor in the air. And rising temperatures caused by global warming evaporate more seawater, bringing more vapor to the land. Weather forecasters say rains will continue throughout the week and recede from Saturday.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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