This year’s monsoon season in S. Korea ends after 3rd-heaviest rainfall on record

The annual monsoon season began on June 25-26, and the nation has since been drenched by frequent heavy rains resulting in casualties, property damage and floods.

The closing dates and duration of this year's monsoon season were similar to those of the previous years, but the amount of rainfall was the third highest on record, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.

The nation's average precipitation during the monthlong monsoon period was 648.7 millimeters, the third-largest volume after 704 mm in 2006 and 701.4 mm in 2020. The average number of rainy days was 21.2 days during the period, and the southwestern city of Gunsan received an all-time daily high of 372.8 mm on July 14.

The KMA explained that this year's unusually heavy rains may have been affected by global warming and higher-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the western Pacific Ocean.

It said the nation has now escaped from the influence of the stationary front that has caused torrential rains, as Typhoon Doksuri has pushed the front northward. Doksuri was heading north toward southern China from the sea 490 kilometers north of Manila, the Philippines, as of 9 a.m.

Thus the rainy season came to an end in the central and southern regions on Wednesday and on the southern resort island of Jeju on Tuesday, the KMA said, forecasting a sweltering heat wave and sporadic showers will continue for the rest of summer.

The agency said the sensible temperatures will remain above 33C across the nation for the time being and the tropical night phenomenon will persist in the capital and southern and eastern coastal regions, in particular.