Society

La Nina may bring heavy snowfall to Japan

Dec 11 (NHK) - Japanese weather officials say the La Nina weather pattern appears to be continuing. They are warning of heavier snowfall this winter, mainly on the Sea of Japan side of the country.

La Nina occurs when sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean become cooler than usual. The phenomenon is thought to affect weather around the world.

The Meteorological Agency announced in November that La Nina appeared to have occurred. On Friday, the agency said sea surface temperatures remain low.

When La Nina develops, temperatures in Japan tend to be lower in winter as cold air is more likely to flow in.

During the La Nina event last January, heavy snowfall caused many cars to be stranded in Japan's Hokuriku region facing the Sea of Japan.

During the winter of 2017 to 2018, many vehicles were also stuck and people had accidents while clearing deep snow from roof-stops. Heavy snowfall persisted across wide areas along the Japan Sea coast.

Weather officials are advising people to follow the latest weather information.

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