May 29, 2018
Areas hit by last year's floods in Japan alarmed by early start of rainy season
Hydrangea, the moisture-loving plant, is beginning to color in various parts of Japan as Japanese are bracing for the upcoming sweaty, hot days in summer.
The "tsuyu" rainy season usually starts early June and runs until around the middle of July in most parts of Japan, but the Meteorological Agency declared that this year's tsuyu season began in Kyushu and other southwestern Japan regions on May 28. This was 23 days earlier than last year or 8 days sooner than the average year.The start of the rainy season allows farmers to prepare rice paddies for this year's crop by bringing in water from irrigation canals. But those in mountainous areas damaged by floods in northern Kyushu early July last year are concerned about the outlook of weather this summer.
People affected by the floods are returning to their areas, but some people are still living an uncomfortable life at temporary housing.Rehabilitation work at farming areas near flooded rivers and valleys in Asakura, Fukuoka Prefecture, is getting into full swing, but damage near smaller rivers largely remains to be attended.
A rice farmer, in his 70s, saw his rice paddies in a hilly area mostly washed away in a mudslide last year, but he expects to prepare unaffected paddies soon for this year's crop.
The tsuyu season begins when the rain front emerges over the Japanese Archipelago between the cold air mass from Siberia and the hot air mass south from the western Pacific. The tsuyu rain front is getting activated earlier than usual this year because the high pressure system south of Japan is strong amid the high temperature observed in regions from the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia, weathermen say.
This year's summer in Japan is expected to be hot and long. Hot weather contributes to a good rice crop, but too high a temperature may lead to a drought, while a long spell of rain and floods are threats to rice farming.Rice growers hit by last year's floods are hoping that rehabilitation work will be finished as soon as possible at the damaged areas, before the start of the full rainy season this year. Farmers, while working on rice planning, may be finding themselves consoled with hydrangea flowers seen here and there around rice field footpaths.
