This 12 months marked the longest streak of tropical nights in South Korea’s recorded historical past, with areas throughout the nation averaging 20.2 tropical nights to date, the state-run climate company stated Sunday.
The entire variety of tropical nights this 12 months surpassed 16.8 in 1994 and 16.7 in 2018 — years which can be notorious amongst residents for being among the many hottest years, in accordance with the Korea Meteorological Administration. A mean of 11.3 tropical nights was recorded within the month of August, marking the primary time the month-to-month determine rose to the double digits because the nation began tallying the phenomenon in 1973.
Tropical nights check with when the bottom temperature between 6:01 p.m. and 9 a.m. the subsequent day stays above 25 levels Celsius, resulting in uncomfortably sizzling, sleepless nights when mixed with the excessive summer season humidity.
Regardless of the warmth subsiding in current days, the KMA stated an obvious temperature of 33 levels Celsius is anticipated at the least till Sept. 15.
A number of areas throughout the nation set new data for the variety of tropical nights in a row, together with 37 days for Seoul and a whopping 47 days for Jeju Island.
This 12 months’s August warmth wave is more likely to go down in historical past with the common temperature (Aug. 1-30) recorded at 28 levels, marking an all-time excessive. The earlier file for a similar interval was 27.2 levels in 2018.
This August additionally set a brand new all-time excessive for the common temperature throughout the day and the common lowest temperature throughout the nation: 33 levels and 24.2 levels, respectively.
Korea defines “warmth wave days” as when the each day excessive is 33 levels or larger. Each Seoul and Incheon have issued warmth wave advisories for 38 consecutive days this 12 months.
The scorching warmth of 2024 has resulted within the third most warmth wave days ever, when taking the common throughout the nation, marking 23.2 days, following 31 in 2018 and 29.6 in 1994. The 16 warmth wave days in August this 12 months was second solely to the identical month in 2016, when the common temperature throughout the day was 33 levels or above for 16.6 days throughout the nation.
Of the 66 areas the place the KMA has arrange an remark level, 13 of them have reached new data for the common each day excessive temperature in August.
Whereas it has begun transitioning into autumn, the relentless warmth has been persevering with on the peninsula. The common temperature for Seoul — the nation’s capital and most populous metropolis — has stayed above 28 levels for 4 days straight from Wednesday to Saturday, and the common temperature throughout the day for the area dipped beneath 28 levels solely as soon as final week.
For comparability, the common temperature throughout the day for the final week of August 2018 was between 22.7 levels and 25.6 levels, presumably indicating that Korea has but to witness the tip of what has been one of many hottest intervals in its recorded historical past.
