"It's Too Hot": First Heat Wave Advisory Issued for Seoul, But 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 ahead of schedule. Reporter Jeong Gu-hui examines the weather outlook.

[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 escape the heat.

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

Today, the temperature in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, reached 34.9°C (95°F), the highest in the country, while Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, hit 34.1°C (93°F), and Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, recorded 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, with 120mm of heavy rain 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—a monsoon front—south of the Korean Peninsula and a low-pressure system arriving from China.

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

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

Meanwhile, in China, warm and cold air are colliding, creating the clouds you 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 lingering strongly in the north, causing it to stay over the Korean Peninsula only briefly before moving south 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, but given the current situation, this year's monsoon season may start later than usual.

(Video Editing: Jeong Yong-hwa | Design: Choi Jae-young, Kim Han-gil | VJ: Shin So-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.