East Asian rainy season

Tsuyu, also Baiu ( Japanese:梅雨; literally plum rain ) is called the Japanese rainy season, which prevails depending on the region in June and July. While it takes about Okinawa from mid-May to mid-June, it begins and ends in Kansai about 3 weeks later, in Kantō well another week later. Hokkaido is not reached by the slowing rain fronts.

The rain fronts form when moist air meets in the spring over the Pacific to the cooler continental air mass. With the increase in air pressure over the Pacific, the front is pushed northward. Low pressure areas form along the front and bring rain to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the basin of the Yangtze River in China.

For the growth of rice plants, the rainy season plays an important role, but applies to most Japanese as the most unpopular time of year. Typically, they will be referred to as " fifth season".

Prior to the use of air conditioning and aspects of urbanization such as the canopy of many important footpaths in the cities, it was in the deeper layers of hard to dry laundry, futons and some household items, or to keep them dry and to save it from destruction.

In June Tōkyō has an average rainfall of 176 mm. The September and October values ​​are higher in the city only because of the impact of typhoons in late summer.

Word origin

For tsuyu is the spelling梅雨, which would read Baiu itself. Earlier this rainy season was actually also called as (霉雨). 霉( bai ) is read as a kabi and means mold, because at this time there is a very high humidity and thereby forming mold faster.

Another theory based on the fact that the Japanese rainy season is the maturity period of Japanese plum simultaneously. In Chinese, the same characters are spoken Meiyu sometimes pronunciation same as霉雨(mold rain) construed. For the same reason, the terms relating to use of the rainy season in Jiangnan and Taiwan.