Tokyo suffers longest streak of rainy days on record

Tokyo has endured the longest continuous period of rain on record, with 34 consecutive rainy days, as reported by the country's weather agency on Tuesday. Climate change, driven by emissions from fossil fuels, has intensified atmospheric moisture, increasing the likelihood of heavy rainfall. This year, global climate patterns, including the El Nino phenomenon, are influencing weather patterns, bringing heavy rain to certain regions while causing droughts in others.

Tokyo's typical rainy season usually begins in June, but heavy rainfall has been experienced throughout the summer months, accompanied by severe flooding in the surrounding Tokyo area. This prolonged stretch of rainy days marks a new record since weather observations commenced in 1886. Masayuki Kyoda, a representative from the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), attributed the unusual weather pattern to El Nino, which is contributing to higher temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

The agency's official also noted that a high-pressure system in the Pacific is prolonging Tokyo's rainy season beyond its usual duration. While the agency cannot directly attribute the rainy streak to climate change, a JMA report from last year concluded that global warming is having a long-term impact on Japan's weather, including increased precipitation.

The previous record for the longest stretch of rainy days in Tokyo was 33 days, recorded between June 27 and September 29, 2019. According to Kazuhiro Hirono, another JMA official, central Tokyo received 629 millimeters of rain from September to Monday, nearly three times the normal amount, and is approaching the historical September record of 670.9 millimeters set in 1958.

Recently, flooding in Thailand affected 1.7 million people due to an intense weather system, resulting in 23 fatalities since mid-September.