El Niño Threatens Hotter, Wetter Summer

El Niño is expected to come early this year with a chance of heavy rains and flooding across Korea, the Korea Meteorological Administration forecast on Sunday.

El Niño -- the surge of ocean temperatures in affected areas of the Pacific Ocean -- started in April, a month earlier than expected. In the last three years temperatures fell in the area, a phenomenon known as La Niña.

Last year, central parts of Korea witnessed heavy rainfall while the south suffered a drought as a hot and humid North Pacific high-pressure front began to expand in early summer, clashing with a cold front from the north. 

In contrast, El Niño is expected to cause increased rainfall in the south and decreased precipitation in central parts. It can also bring lots of snow in November and December when the phenomenon usually has the strongest impact.

El Niño usually causes temperatures to drop in Korea, but this year they are expected to remain more or less the same or rise, with an increased chance of downpours from May to July, which means a hotter and more humid summer on the horizon.