Japan’s Meteorological Agency says the colder-than-normal sea temperature off Peru, South America, may be contributing to the record snow in Japan this winter.
The agency says the average temperature from December through mid-February was down 1.7 degrees from the normal year in western Japan. It was also down 0.9 degrees in eastern Japan.
Cold air masses repeatedly enveloped Japan since last month. They brought record snowfall to prefectures on the Sea of Japan coast. In Fukui City, the depth of snow reached 1.4 meters for the first time in 37 years, paralyzing land transportation.
The agency says the colder-than-normal sea temperature associated with “La Nina” effect in the eastern Pacific has been detected since last autumn.
When La Nina occurs, the sea temperature in the western Pacific tends to rise. The agency says this leads to a southward meandering of westerly winds near Japan, bringing cold air from the north.
It says a recent computer simulation also endorsed La Nina’s impact on Japanese weather.
It warns of more inflows of cold air masses in northern Japan through the end of this month, and snowfall on the Sea of Japan coast of northern and eastern Japan.
Source and image: NHK
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