Southern Region's 'Heavy Rain', Seoul Metropolitan Area's 'Scorching Heat'... Fluctuating 'Hong Gil-dong Monsoon'

On the 29th, when a 'heavy rain warning' was issued in the metropolitan area, citizens were walking with umbrellas near Gangnam Station in Seoul, where flood damage occurred last year. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

On the 30th, the last day of June, the monsoon rain continues in most parts of the country, with daytime temperatures expected to rise above 30 degrees Celsius, especially in the Seoul metropolitan area where the rain will stop during the day, resulting in hot weather.

On this day, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced that as a low-pressure system and a stationary front move southward, rain will fall until 6 p.m. in the central region and until midnight in the southern region. Rain is forecast to continue along the southern coast and Jeju Island until the following day, July 1.

This year's monsoon front has been moving up and down between the southern and central regions over the past three days, pouring heavy rain and earning the nickname "Hong Gil-dong Monsoon." This phenomenon occurred as a low-pressure system originating in the western part of the Korean Peninsula interacted with the stationary front.

The stationary front, formed at the edge of the North Pacific high-pressure system affecting Korea, usually brings prolonged light rain when combined with the high pressure. However, this time, a low-pressure system carrying dry air in the upper northern air mass met the stationary front, accelerating the movement of rain clouds.

Winds around a high-pressure system rotate clockwise, while those around a low-pressure system rotate counterclockwise. When the low-pressure system is to the west, it quickly pulls rain clouds from the southern region to the central region, and when it moves eastward, it pushes the stationary front down to the southern region. This process caused alternating monsoon rains in the central and southern parts of the Korean Peninsula.

With the intensification of climate warming, including rising sea surface temperatures in the West Sea and increased low-latitude air temperatures, the frequency and strength of low-pressure systems have increased, and such localized monsoon rains are expected to continue in the future.

The KMA's forecasted rainfall until July 1 is 5 to 40 mm in the central region, 100 to 250 mm in the Jeonnam area and Jeju Island, and 50 to 120 mm in the Gyeongnam area. The KMA expects very heavy rain accompanied by gusts and thunder and lightning, with hourly rainfall of 30 to 60 mm.

A KMA official said, "On the 30th, the central region will gradually move out of the influence of the low-pressure system and come under the edge of the high-pressure system located over the West Sea, but the southern region and Jeju Island are expected to be affected by the stationary front moving southward toward the southern coast."

On the other hand, hot weather is forecast to continue mainly in the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon Yeongseo region, where the rain will stop on this day. Other inland areas are also expected to experience heat starting from July 1 and 2. The expected daytime high temperatures on the 30th are ▲Seoul 31°C ▲Incheon 26°C ▲Chuncheon 32°C ▲Gangneung 27°C ▲Daejeon 30°C ▲Daegu 31°C ▲Jeonju 28°C ▲Gwangju 28°C ▲Busan 26°C ▲Jeju 26°C.

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