Korea to See Big Drought in 2015
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
The Korean peninsula may suffer from extreme drought in 2015, Prof. Byun Hi-ryong of Pukyong National University forecast.
The professor made the prediction in a science magazine article that the peninsula showed regular patterns of drought, which lasted for about 3-10 years on average.
Through his research on weather trends from 1977 to 2006 , he found that there are drought cycles of six, 12, 38 and 124-years.
Byun said that the 12-year-cycle droughts had a short rainy season or none, which took place in 1982 and 1994 recently.
The 38-year-ones lasted about three to 10 years and 124-year ones had a massive impact on the country's eco system and people's living. ``The 38-year-cycle ones have appeared from 1884 to 1901. In 1901, the 104-year also came up and it was a record worst period of famine and other disasters in the country,'' he said.
Byun urged the government to brace for the natural disaster as the 104 year-cycle drought will hit the nation around 2015.
This is the first time such an elaborate drought-monitoring system has been developed to study the climate of Korean peninsula.