Tokyo records 34 consecutive rainy days, Japan agency says

Tokyo has recorded 34 consecutive days of rain, the longest such run since records began in 1886, Japan’s weather agency said on Tuesday. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the capital’s previous record was 33 consecutive rainy days, recorded between June 27 and July 29, 2019. Tokyo’s rainy season normally occurs in June, but the capital has experienced repeated heavy downpours during the summer.

Flooding has also affected the wider Tokyo region. Masayuki Kyoda, an agency official, told AFP that the weather pattern was partly associated with El Niño, which brings higher temperatures in the Pacific and alters winds, air pressure and cloud patterns. Kyoda said autumn rain fronts had remained longer than usual because a high-pressure system in the Pacific was also persisting.

He said it was not possible to directly link the 34-day streak to climate change. However, he cited a Japan Meteorological Agency report from last year which concluded that global warming was affecting Japan’s weather over the long term, including by increasing precipitation. The Mainichi Shimbun reported that central Tokyo received 629 millimetres of rain from September through Monday, nearly three times the usual amount.

The total was approaching the September record of 670.9 millimetres set in 1958. The weather came as Thailand was also dealing with severe flooding. The supplied report said 1.7 million people had been affected there and 23 people had died since mid-September after an intense weather system struck the region.