Who stopped the rain?
People living in Japan might have noticed that the rainy season, which usually occurs sometime between May and July depending on the area, hasn’t been all that rainy these days. In fact, this week for the most part has been a onslaught of relentless heat and scorching sunlight. This type of weather is expected to continue in much of the country, despite the fact that Japan is more or less in the middle of what’s normally the rainy season.
An average rainy season isn’t much better really. It’s just a different kind of suffering in the form of inescapable humidity that sticks to you everywhere and all the time. Basically, it’s like comparing rotten apples and rotten oranges.
▼ And let’s not forget wet socks.
But it’s the bright, intense kind of heat that is expected to continue at least until the end of June, in most cases with the temperature soaring even higher, and it’s causing the Japan Meteorological Agency to wonder if the rainy season might already be finished. If that’s the case, it could be a strong contender for the shortest rainy season on record.
At the moment the baiu front, which brings the rainy season to Japan each year, is being held back to the north by the La Niña phenomenon. La Niña is characterized by a large-scale movement of warm water from equatorial South America across the Pacific Ocean, towards the eastern parts of Asia.
▼ To learn more about La Niña, consult your local YouTube channel.
This has implications on the weather all over the world in different ways, but for the time being it is making things extra hot and uncharacteristically dry in Japan. It’s too early to say what kind of knock on effects this will have on the food supply, but past events have shown that it’s sure to take its toll one way or another.
It’s already causing a severe drought in optimism, if online comments are anything to go by.
“Are we going to be OK for water?”
“Get ready for power and water shortages this summer.”
“Vegetable prices are going to soar…again.”
“I really hope it rains, because it is too hot now.”
“And I just bought a new umbrella…”
“I remember one year it rained almost every day in July, so let’s wait and see.”
“I think I only remember it raining for one day?”
“With all the AI and satellites around, we still can’t know for sure if it’s the end of the rainy season?”
“Good riddance. I hate the rainy season anyway. It’s disgusting.”
“Heat stroke is going to be a problem.”
It worth noting that unpredictability is one of the weather’s most famous characteristics, so it’s not completely out of the question for things to take a complete 180 in the coming months. Still, the way things are looking, it’s probably prudent to take the necessary precautions for an especially grueling summer in Japan.
▼ Again…
Be sure to be well stocked on water, keep a parasol handy, know the early signs of heat stroke, and if you have any eggs hand, street frying season has officially begun.
Source: TBS New Dig, Itai News
Top image: Pakutaso
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