"It's Too Hot": First Heat Wave Advisory of the Year Issued for Seoul; Monsoon Season Not Yet Here

[Anchor]

The first heat wave advisory of the year has been issued for the Seoul metropolitan area and inland regions of North Gyeongsang Province. For Seoul, this is 12 days earlier than last year. Heavy rain is forecast across the country starting tomorrow night (June 19).

With the heat arriving early, many are wondering if the monsoon season will also begin sooner than expected. Reporter Jeong Gu-hui looks at the weather forecast.

[Reporter]

In downtown Seoul today, people tried to block the sun with parasols and cool off with handheld fans, but it was not enough to beat the heat.

[Oh Ji-hyun / Mapo-gu, Seoul: It’s not just the temperature; the humidity is high, making it hard to breathe. The UV rays are also strong, which makes it difficult.]

Today, the temperature in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, reached 34.9°C (95°F), the highest in the nation. Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang Province recorded 34.1°C (93°F), and Gwangjin-gu in Seoul reached 33.5°C (92°F).

The heat will continue until tomorrow, but rain is expected to start in Jeju Island tomorrow morning and spread across the country between tomorrow night and the following day.

Heavy rain is expected, particularly in Jeju Island and the southern coast. Up to 250mm or more is forecast for the mountainous regions of Jeju, while 120mm of heavy rain is expected in the southern coastal areas, the Jirisan Mountain region, and the east coast of Gangwon Province.

The reason for this heavy rainfall is the simultaneous influence of a stationary front—the monsoon front—to the south of the Korean Peninsula and a low-pressure system moving in from China.

Looking at satellite imagery, you can see white clouds forming along the edge of the North Pacific High, which is rotating clockwise to the south of the Korean Peninsula.

The monsoon front forms in areas where this North Pacific High pushes in warm air.

Meanwhile, in China, clouds are also forming as warm and cold air collide, as you can see here.

These clouds are part of a low-pressure system.

As this low-pressure system approaches the Korean Peninsula and interacts with the monsoon front, it will bring heavy rain to Jeju Island, the southern coast, and especially the east coast of Gangwon Province, which will be under the influence of the low-pressure system for an extended period.

However, this monsoon front is expected to be blocked by cold air holding firm in the north, causing it to linger briefly over the Korean Peninsula before moving southward again.

This is why, despite the formation of a monsoon front, it is difficult to say that the monsoon season has officially begun.

On average, the monsoon season typically begins on June 19 in Jeju and June 23 in the southern regions. Given the current situation, there is a possibility that this year's monsoon season will start later than usual.

Reported by Jeong Gu-hui | Video by Jung Yong-hwa | Graphics by Choi Jae-young and Kim Han-gil | VJ by Shin So-young
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.