Greater Tokyo Sees Earliest End of Rainy Season on Record

June 29, 2018

Tokyo- The Japan Meteorological Agency declared the effective end of the rainy season in the Kanto-Koshin region including Tokyo on Friday, the earliest such announcement for the central-eastern region since observations started in 1951.

The announcement came 22 days earlier than the average year and seven days earlier than last year. The previous record was set in 2001, when the rainy season ended in he region on July 1.

The agency now warns of droughts, as the rainy season lasted only 23 days, equal to the shortest rainy season on record logged in 1978.

"The region could continue to see low rainfall," Minako Sakurai, chief of the agency's weather advisory office, said.

In contrast to the Kanto-Koshin region, the northern part of the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan was hit by heavy rain on Friday morning.

Rainfall of about 110 millimeters over one hour was observed in areas around the town of Kawasaki, Fukuoka Prefecture, and the city of Minamishimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, according to the agency. Jiji Press