This year’s brief autumn will give way to an early winter, with temperatures staying unseasonably high through October before plunging in late November, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
In its three-month outlook released Monday, the agency forecast above-average temperatures nationwide in October following the hottest summer on record, delaying the arrival of autumn weather.
“There may be midsummer-like days with highs topping 30 degrees Celsius in early October, so it remains important to take measures to prevent heatstroke,” Yoshinori Oikawa, director of the agency’s Tokyo Climate Center, which tracks climate patterns, told reporters at a news conference Monday.
But from the latter half of November, cold air masses are expected to strengthen, bringing a rapid seasonal shift. December temperatures in eastern and western Japan, as well as Okinawa and Amami, are projected to be near or below normal.
“Temperatures are likely to stay high until mid-November before dropping suddenly. It will feel like an abrupt seasonal shift. Please take care of your health,” Oikawa said.
The agency attributed the unusual pattern to both global warming and La Nina-like conditions in the Pacific, where sea surface temperatures in the equatorial central and eastern regions remain lower than average. That has pushed the jet stream farther north, allowing warm air to dominate much of Japan.
The colder-than-average conditions are expected to ease by mid-winter, and the overall average temperature for the October-to-December period is projected to be close to normal nationwide.
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