In brief
East Asia's rainy seasons are becoming less reliable with shorter and more unpredictable patterns, primarily attributed to climate change, affecting millions in South Korea and Japan.
In East Asia, the historical monsoon season is proving to be less predictable than ever. Residents of South Korea and Japan are finding themselves unprepared for erratic rain patterns this summer—a trend often linked directly to climate change. In Seoul, Choi Moon-hee, 43, noted how she no longer carries an umbrella, even during the expected rainy season. Just last Tuesday, she got caught in an unexpected downpour, the first rain she’d seen since the official start of the monsoon declared two weeks prior. “In the past, if it started raining, it would last for about a half-month, and we’d use our umbrellas often,” she explained while seeking shelter. “Nowadays, it often doesn’t rain even when the forecast says it will.”In a stark contrast, the southern parts of South Korea recently had their rainy season called off, and western Japan experienced a premature end in late June, setting a record for the earliest conclusion. Traditionally, the rainy season spanned from mid-June to July, characterized by a stationary weather front delivering continuous rains. However, since the late 1990s, forecasts have increasingly proved unreliable due to climate change's impact, which has intensified extreme weather incidents globally.As research indicates, this trend doesn't solely affect Korea; climate change has similarly disrupted monsoon patterns in regions such as India and China, unexpectedly inundating billions with floods or leaving them parched in drought conditions. The ongoing transformation of these seasonal patterns raises concerns about preparedness and the ramifications on agriculture and water supplies across the region.
