Early Summer Weather Expected in May

The month of May is expected to be unusually warm, the Korea Meteorological Administration said Monday.

In a three-month weather forecast, the KMA said temperatures in May will likely be higher than the average 17 degrees Celsius due to anticyclonic air circulation in the upper layer of the atmosphere.

The KMA said sea temperatures in the western subtropical Pacific Ocean are unusually high, causing a warm and humid anticyclone to form south of Korea.

But the KMA also predicted an unusually wet July as El Niño, which warms seawater near the equator, will bring a lot of hot and humid water vapor to the Korean Peninsula and increase the amount of precipitation.