The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristic changes of the Changma season in the 2000s. To accomplish this goal, we have used daily rainfall data collected over nearly 40 years (1971 to 2010). The average summer precipitation data including the Changma season were collected from 16 weather stations that are placed across the three major regions (i.e. central region, southern region, and Jeju region) as Korea Meteorological Administration divided. These precipitation data were analyzed to find out characteristic changes of the Changma season. Results of the precipitation data comparison among the major regions that, monthly average precipitation in the central region was the highest in July; its precipitation tended to increase from May to September. In the southern region, the precipitation amount was lowest in June and tended to increase in May, September, and August. In the Jeju region, the precipitation has been the highest in June and July for the past 30 years, whereas September has been highest month in the last 10 years. The precipitation amount in the Jeju region decreased both in June and July, whereas it tended to grow in May, August and September. A correlation coefficient formula by Karl Pearson has been used to find out correlations between the Changma season and the precipitation of the major regions in 2000s and normal years. It was found that the correlation coefficient has decreased from 0.723 to 0.524 in the 2000s (2001 to 2010) compared to normal years (1971 to 2000).

Meteorologists define a drought as a period of common dry weather. This may sound straightforward, but it is not so in reality. In this study, we attempted to identify meteorological drought conditions over South Korea. To evaluate the temporal and spatial variability of drought, we calculated two commonly used drought indices, the percent of normal precipitation (PNP) and the Palmer drought severity index (PDSI) calculated from fifty-eight meteorological stations below the Korean Meteorological Administration (KMA). The yearly precipitation has been growing gradually, and the amplitude between maximum and minimum also grow more explicitly from 1960's. According to the analysis of percentile anomaly of monthly precipitation, major drought duration was 1927∼1929, 1937∼1939, 1942∼1944, 1967∼1968, 1976∼1977, 1982∼1983, 1988, and 1994∼1995. The severe drought occurred most frequently in Mokpo, Daegu, Jeonju, Busan, and Gangneung; it tended to occur more frequently in south sector than in mid sector of Korea and in south west sector than in south east sector. According to the analysis of seasonal distribution, extreme droughts occurred frequently in winter at Seoul, Gangneung, Jeonju, Daegu, and Busan. Severe droughts in summer were formed frequently at Seoul, Gangneung, and Mokpo, while that for spring at Jeonju, Daegu, and Busan. The results of PDSI distribution for the 1994∼1995 drought period were one of the most severe and widely spreaded droughts; it occurred most frequently in the south sector of South Korea. The comparison of time series between PDSI and Normal Percent showed that they exhibit a strong compatibility for the entire study period; it implies that both drought indices are useful method to indicate drought severity.

The preliminary results of the study on the physics of rain using disdrometer data are shown for an area located on the northern coastal board of Maceiб, Alagoas (9˚33'17.24' and 35˚46'54.84' W), at approximately 80 meters above the sea level. The data were obtained during January 2002 using a disdrometer RD-69 (Joss-Waldvogel). After definining the criteria for determining rain type (convective and stratiform), a set of Z-R pairs was analyzed for estimating the Z-R relation for each rain type. The results were quite similar to those for other regions of the globe. This preliminary analysis will be used to study the structure of rain with the meteorological radar as well as to permit a better understanding of the physics of tropical rain.