"Does it Always Rain on Korea Meteorological Administration Sports Day?"... The KMA Chief Speaks Out

"Supercomputers Also Programmed with Past Observation Data... Difficult to Predict"
Discussion on Alternative Expressions Like 'Korean-Type Rainy Season' Instead of Monsoon

On the 11th, when it rained, citizens hurried on their way to work at Gwanghwamun Intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Yoo Hee-dong, the head of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), stated, "The pattern of the monsoon season has been changing recently," and added, "As we enter the era of climate change, it will not be easy to identify (rainfall) patterns."

On the 30th, Yoo appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and explained, "Recently, summer rain has been falling in concentrated heavy rain and downpour forms repeatedly, without a certain cycle. It appears very briefly, followed by continuous heatwaves in between," adding, "The changes have become unpredictable."

Yoo also revealed that even the KMA's supercomputer, worth hundreds of billions of won, struggles to make accurate forecasts. He said, "The supercomputer programs future weather predictions based on past observation data," and explained, "While it can predict a certain range of (heavy rain) around the average value, it is practically impossible for any computer or model in the world to predict such an enormous amount."

Yoo stated, "There are even terms like 'Korean-style rainy season' emerging, so we plan to go through a process of gathering opinions from academia, industry, and the public regarding the classification and naming of summer rain forms," and mentioned plans to find an alternative expression to the monsoon.

Yoo Hee-dong, the head of the Korea Meteorological Administration, is reporting on work at the Environment and Labor Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 4th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the saying, "It always rains on the KMA sports day," Yoo clarified, "It actually rained only once, about 28 years ago in 1994, during the KMA sports day," and added, "Although the sports day no longer exists, even if there are events, the situation like back then will not occur. The forecasting ability then and now is incomparable," he said.

Meanwhile, the KMA recently published a 'Monsoon White Paper' analyzing domestic precipitation observation data over the past 10 years. The main contents of the monsoon white paper are ▲ high variability in monsoon season duration and precipitation ▲ increased frequency of heavy rain during the monsoon period ▲ significant changes in precipitation patterns after the monsoon season.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.