South Korea is in the midst of one of its wettest monsoon seasons in recent memory.
On Wednesday, Seoul recorded nearly 4 inches of rainfall, adding to an already incredibly wet early August.
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The capital city of Seoul has recorded rainfall each of the first six days of the month, tallying a whopping 11 inches in less than one week. Climatologically, August is the second wettest month of the year in Seoul, with an average monthly rainfall of about 14 inches.
That number could be eclipsed in the coming days. Another round of heavy rain will soak the region courtesy of the remnants of Tropical Storm Hagupit.
However, the wettest spots on earth this week have been located across the border in North Korea. The town of Sin’gye has recorded a remarkable 20 inches of rainfall in the past 48 hours. For some perspective, this would be equivalent to nearly a year’s worth of rainfall coming down in London in just 48 hours.
Nearby, the town of Changjon has had its own run of soggy weather, managing to record over 4 inches of rain on Tuesday and nearly 8 inches more on Wednesday.
North Korea is coming off one of its worst droughts in decades after spring 2019 brought only 42% of average rains.
This summer, South Korea has been so soggy that national brands like Samsung and LG are reporting record low sales of air conditioning units, in part because the persistent rains and cooler air in the region.
According to Yonhap News Agency, in the country’s southern region of Jeju Island, rainfall was observed for 49 consecutive days between June 10 and July 28.
South Korea’s wet season begins a dramatic shift to dryer weather in September and, more notably, in October.