A new normal? Korea endures cycle of relentless heat and heavy rains this summer.

This article is by Chon Kwon-pil and read by an artificial voice.

Korea is trapped in a punishing cycle of extreme heat and torrential rain. As soon as a weeklong bout of record-breaking heat had ended, powerful downpours began sweeping across the country on Sunday, raising concerns that such extreme summer weather is becoming the "new normal."
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), a dense band of rain clouds moved in from the Yellow Sea on Sunday afternoon, replacing heat wave alerts with heavy rain warnings across the country instead.
The southwest region, where rain clouds stalled overnight, saw record levels of rainfall. At Muan International Airport in South Jeolla, an automatic weather station recorded 142.1 millimeters (5.6 inches) of rain in a single hour - equivalent to 11 percent of the region's average annual rainfall - through the night. This level almost reached the country's highest known hourly rainfall of 146 millimeters, recorded in July 2023 on Eocheong Island, North Jeolla. The weather agency classifies rainfall exceeding 72 millimeters per hour as "extreme rainfall."
Evacuation orders were issued for low-lying areas in Muan and Hampyeong. In Muan, a man in his 60s was swept away by fast-moving water and later found dead. In Sancheong County, South Gyeongsang - which was heavily impacted by flooding last month - landslide alerts and evacuation orders were reissued Sunday night. With many areas already waterlogged, the southern region could see more than 120 millimeters of additional rain through the early hours of Tuesday.

Typhoon moisture and hot seas
The sudden arrival of heavy rain nationwide after the heat wave is linked to tropical moisture left behind by Typhoon Co-May, the eighth typhoon of the season.
As the moisture was carried northward by southerly winds, it passed over the Yellow Sea - where sea surface temperatures had been pushed close to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) by the recent heat - causing rapid and explosive development of rain clouds. Meteorologists say the extreme heat likely intensified the rainfall.
Another narrow but intense band of rain clouds is expected to move in from the north between Wednesday and Thursday, bringing another bout of concentrated downpours.
"If the push of cold, dry air moving south strengthens further, it could cause rain clouds to develop even more intensely between Aug. 6 and 7," said Lee Chang-jae, a forecaster at the KMA.

Heat and rain both historic
Such extremes - without moderation - have become a defining feature of this summer. After early-season heat waves, July brought a prolonged dry spell followed by sudden bursts of extreme rainfall exceeding 100 millimeters per hour in some areas.
The intensity of both heat and rainfall broke records. According to the JoongAng Ilbo's analysis of the weather agency's July data, 16 out of 97 weather stations nationwide - or 16.5 percent - recorded new all-time daily temperature highs. Daily rainfall records were broken at 13 stations, or 13.4 percent.
The dual threat of extreme heat and rain has resulted in larger-than-usual disaster impacts. As of Sunday, the number of heat-related illness cases reached 3,127, including 19 fatalities - more than double the 1,324 cases reported during the same period last year. The number of livestock deaths has surpassed 1.45 million.

Rain-related casualties have also been severe, with 27 people killed nationwide - 14 in South Gyeongsang - and two reported missing as of Saturday.
One-two punch of heat and rain likely to continue
Meteorologists attribute the intensifying one-two punch of heat and rain to climate change.
"Heavy rainfall requires both abundant moisture in the atmosphere and strong upward air movement and heat waves amplify both conditions," said Ha Kyung-ja, a professor of atmospheric environmental science at Pusan National University.
"Because Korea is surrounded by seas, heated waters naturally release more vapor into the a...