Relieved from Drought, 200 mm of Rain Is Expected

The nation, dried out from a three-month-long drought, was relieved from the worst drought since 1907 thanks to the rainfall that started Sunday evening. Rainfall brought 30-100 mm of water from Sunday through Monday. As more rain is expected Tuesday afternoon, an anticipated total amount of precipitation ranges from 100 to180 mm (more than 200 mm in some areas). As of 4:00 pm Monday the amount of precipitation recorded 36.4 mm in Seoul, 42.6 mm in Chuncheon, 40.9 mm in Chungjoo, 72.4 mm in Taejon, 90.5 mm in Junjoo, 59.4 mm in Taegu, and 61.2 mm in Pusan.

An alert for torrential rain was issued in the inner lands of the Jeonbook, Jeonnam provinces, southern Gyungbook, and northwest inner area of Gyungnam Province, while a warning for heavy rain was issued in other regions.

An official of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that ``rainfall is attributed to the low atmospheric pressure which absorbed water vapor of the ocean while moving slowly from China. This rainfall can relieve more than half of the precipitation shortage.`` It is anticipated that although the rainfall is not enough to fill the necessary amount of dams and reservoirs, it is sufficient for cultivating field products. Although the low atmospheric pressure that brought the rainfall moved to southeast of the Korean peninsula, rainfall is expected through Tuesday morning in the central region and until Tuesday afternoon in the southern provinces. An KMA official said that ``cloudy weather will continue from Wednesday through Friday. Rainfall will start again in the southern provinces on June 23 due to the seasonal rain front. The rainy spell will hit the central provinces on June 25 lasting through the first ten days of July, heavily in some areas.``

Kim Joon-Seok kjs359@donga.com