Third-Latest Monsoon Season Begins: When Will It End?

[Anchor]

The monsoon season has officially begun today (June 30) as rain started falling on Jeju Island.

This marks the third-latest start to the monsoon season since weather records began. With the delayed start, we look at the outlook for how long it might last with Reporter Seo Donggyun.

[Reporter]

Central regions experienced scorching heat today, with Seoul recording a daytime high of 31.8°C (89°F).

[Kim A-in/Seodaemun-gu, Seoul: It is just so hot that I have to keep carrying water with me. It is okay for now, but I think it will be extremely humid if it rains in this weather.]

This is the atmospheric pressure system over the Korean Peninsula.

A monsoon front is currently bringing rain to the waters south of Jeju Island. It had been blocked from moving northward by cold air, but as that cold air has dissipated, it has moved up to the vicinity of Jeju Island today, bringing rain to the region.

The Korea Meteorological Administration announced that this rain marks the beginning of the monsoon season for Jeju Island.

This is 11 days later than the average year, making it the third-latest start on record, following 1982 and 2021.

The monsoon season will also begin in the southern regions as rain is expected to start on the southern coast late tonight or tomorrow.

A late start to the monsoon does not necessarily mean an early end.

Looking at historical data, there have been years when a monsoon that began in July ended in just 15 days, while in other years, it lasted for as long as 39 days.

Furthermore, there have been years where even a late-starting monsoon brought rainfall approaching 700mm.

[Lee Gwang-yeon/Forecasting Analyst, Korea Meteorological Administration: Especially in Jeju Island, which is strongly influenced by the stationary (monsoon) front and mesoscale low-pressure systems, we expect heavy rain of around 30mm per hour.]

By tomorrow, more than 180mm of rain is expected in the mountainous areas of Jeju Island, 50 to 100mm in other parts of Jeju, and over 80mm in many areas along the southern coast.

There is a possibility that the monsoon season will begin in the central regions around this Saturday.

The latest start date for the monsoon in the central region on record was July 10.

Even without the monsoon rain, there may be occasional showers for the time being due to atmospheric instability.

(Video reporting: Kang Myeong-cheol, JIBS | Video editing: Kim Jong-tae | Design: Seo Seung-hyun | VJ: Shin So-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.