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Today, June 21st, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced that the Kinki, Tokai, and Kanto-Koshin regions are likely to have entered the rainy season. This entry is 14 to 15 days later than usual. However, despite a slightly cloudy sky, we’ve had sunny intervals since morning. The nearby tachiaoi (hollyhock) has already bloomed up to its top, as seen in the photo. The scene doesn’t seem like the onset of the rainy season at all.
Tachiaoi typically starts blooming around the onset of the rainy season, and folklore says that once it blooms all the way to the top, the rainy season will end. So, this year’s rainy season entry in Kansai is significantly delayed. Upon checking, the earliest recorded rainy season onset since observations began in 1951 was May 6th, 1963, while the latest was June 22nd, 2007. Therefore, today’s onset ranks as the second-latest in recorded history.
By the way, looking at the end of the rainy season, the earliest end was June 29th, 2018, and the latest was August 4th, 1982. Thus, a late onset doesn’t necessarily mean a late end to the rainy season. This year’s rainy season is expected to be short in duration with concerns about concentrated heavy rainfall.
And today is the summer solstice. As we reach summer, according to the calendar, summer really begins today. The start of the rainy season and the arrival of summer are on the same day, so everything seems out of sync and it’s just confusing.
今日6月21日、気象庁は近畿、東海、関東甲信地方が「梅雨入りしたとみられる」と発表しました。いずれも平年より14~15日遅い梅雨入りです。しかし、雲は若干多めですが、朝からずっと晴れ間が続いています。ご近所のタチアオイ(立葵)も写真の様にもうすでにてっぺんまで花を咲かせています。とても梅雨入りとは思えない光景が広がっています。
タチアオイは梅雨入りの頃に花が咲きはじめ、一番上まで花が咲き上ると梅雨が明けるといういわれていまから、今年の関西の梅雨入りは随分遅いわけです。調べてみたら、観測をはじめた1951年以降、一番早い梅雨入りは1963年の5月6日で、一番遅かったのが2007年の6月22日です。ですから、今日の梅雨入りは観測史上2番目に遅い梅雨入りと言うことになります。
ちなみに、梅雨明けで見てみると一番早い梅雨明けは、2018年の6月29日で、一番遅かったのが1982年の8月4日です。梅雨入りが遅いから梅雨明けも遅いと言うわけではなさそうで、今年の梅雨は期間も短く、集中豪雨が懸念されるそうです。
そして今日は夏至。夏に至ると言うことで、暦的には今日からが本格的な夏と言うことです。梅雨入りと夏の到来が同じ日ということになりますから、何もかもちぐはぐで、頭が混乱するばかりです。