Opposite trends in summer precipitation in South and North Korea

Abstract

We analysed daily precipitation data at the rain gauge stations in North Korea over a period of 25 years from 1983 to 2007, and in South Korea over a period of 35 years from 1973 and 2007. We found a striking trend of decreasing summer precipitation across North Korea. By contrast, in South Korea, the trend is opposite: there is a major increase in summer precipitation. Also, the number of dry days in summer showed an increasing trend in North Korea and a decreasing trend in South Korea. For the number of days with heavy precipitation (i.e. days with above 50 mm/day daily precipitation) during summer, a decreasing trend was detected in North Korea, but no trend in South Korea. However, in South Korea, there was a significant increase of days with heavy precipitation over the whole year. These opposite trends in summer precipitation between North and South Korea were further confirmed using four global/regional satellite and rain gauge datasets of CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP), the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP), Precipitation REConstruction over the Land (PREC/L), and the Asian Precipitation-Highly Resolved Observation Data Integration Towards the Evaluation of Water Resources (APHRODITE). Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society