Anchor: The national weather agency predicts this summer will be hotter than usual, with heavy rainfall concentrated in the first half of the monsoon season.
Rosyn Park reports.

Report: According to a three-month forecast released by the Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA) on Friday, June will likely see unseasonably hot temperatures, with the trend to continue through July and August.

The KMA explained that due to consistently high sea surface temperatures in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific since springtime, high temperatures and humid winds are expected to blow in from the south and lead to a very hot summer.

Although the forecast also showed average levels of summer precipitation, heavy downpours could be more frequent early on in the rainy season next month.

On the other hand, the KMA predicted that typhoons will affect the nation no more than in an average year.

However, it warned that disasters caused by dangerous weather, such as abnormally high temperatures and torrential rains, remain a possibility.

The KMA said that in response, it plans to issue outlooks for extreme heat two days in advance and expand its safety messaging for heavy rain emergencies nationwide.

Data showed the cumulative nationwide precipitation over the past six months at around 93 percent of the annual average, but it also showed some areas such as Yeongdong in Gangwon Province were experiencing a drought.

Based on the KMA's forecast for next month, the drought may soon be over.
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.