Along the coastlines and mountain slopes of East and Southeast Asia, the sky has delivered a reckoning. Record monsoon rains — including a single hour in Geoje, South Korea that surpassed anything measured since 1972 — have triggered landslides and floods that have claimed lives, stranded thousands, and overwhelmed the infrastructure of entire cities. Scientists trace the intensification to a strengthening El Niño, a reminder that the atmosphere's ancient rhythms are being rewritten, and that what feels like a series of disasters is in fact a single, unfolding condition.
Record rainfall triggers deadly landslide in South Korea as Asia faces extreme weather
One person killed in South Korean landslide, two injured; 10 deaths in Japan from flooding and carbon monoxide poisoning; thousands stranded at Narita Airport.