Tokyo suffers longest streak of rainy days on record

Tokyo is experiencing its longest streak of consecutive rainy days on record, according to Japan's weather agency. The city has endured 34 straight days of rain, marking a historic achievement. This extreme weather pattern is believed to be influenced by climate change, as well as the El Nino phenomenon. Climate change, driven by fossil fuel emissions, is increasing moisture in the atmosphere and making heavy rain more likely.

Meanwhile, El Nino is shifting winds, air pressure, and cloud patterns, bringing heavy rain to some areas while causing droughts in others. Typically, Tokyo's rainy season begins in June, but heavy downpours have occurred throughout the summer months, with flooding impacting the wider Tokyo region. The stretch of rainy days is the longest since records began in 1886.

Officials from the Japan Meteorological Agency attribute the distinctive weather to El Nino, which brings higher temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Additionally, a high pressure system in the Pacific is prolonging Tokyo's rainy season. Although the direct link between the rainy streak and climate change cannot be established, a previous JMA report concluded that global warming is impacting Japan's weather long-term, including through increased precipitation.

The previous record for the longest streak of rainy days in Tokyo was 33 days, between June 27 and July 29, 2019. Central Tokyo received a staggering 629 millimeters (24.8 inches) of rain from September through Monday, nearly three times the normal level and nearing the September record of 670.9 millimeters set in 1958. The heavy rainfall has affected 1.7 million people in Thailand, where an intense weather system has killed 23 people since mid-September.

Meanwhile, torrential rains from a powerful typhoon that struck Japan's Pacific coast have caused landslides, resulting in four deaths and six people missing, while leaving 45,000 homes without electricity. Recent extreme weather events, including floods and tropical cyclones, have affected regions across the globe, from East Asia to North America and Europe.