The Korean Peninsula's Climate Has Drastically Changed in the Last Decade... Will Winters Disappear Due to Abnormal High Temperatures?

2019 Abnormal Climate Report
Annual Average Rising to 13 Degrees
January Also Hits Record High

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Korean Peninsula has experienced rapid climate changes over the past decade due to the effects of global warming. If this trend continues, winters are expected to gradually disappear.

On the 19th, the Korea Meteorological Administration, in collaboration with 23 organizations including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Environment, published the "2019 Abnormal Climate Report" containing these statistics and forecasts. According to the report, the annual average temperature in South Korea has steadily risen over the past decade. The average annual temperature from 2010 to 2019 was 13.0 degrees Celsius, which is 0.5 degrees higher than the normal value (1981?2010). A higher average temperature means that the start of summer comes earlier. Summer is counted from the first day when the daily average temperature rises above 20 degrees Celsius and does not fall below that again.

Records over the past decade show that early heat arrived from May. In late May 2014, abnormal high temperatures caused tropical nights in Jeju (on the 27th) and Gangneung (on the 29th and 31st). The average temperature in May 2016 reached 18.6 degrees Celsius, breaking previous records. In May 2017, the record was broken again with 18.7 degrees, and last May also saw temperatures rise to 18.6 degrees.

Provided by Korea Meteorological Administration

Heatwaves exceeding 33 degrees Celsius have become a summer routine. The number of heatwave days has increased every year, from 9.4 days in the 1980s, 10.9 days in the 1990s, to a staggering 15.5 days in the 2010s. Notably, on August 1, 2018, the highest daily temperatures reached 39.6 degrees in Seoul, 41.0 degrees in Hongcheon, and 40.4 degrees in Uiseong. That summer, over 9 million livestock nationwide died, and 48 people died from heat-related illnesses. On the other hand, rainfall amounts have been decreasing. The number of days with precipitation over 30mm steadily increased until the 2000s (averaging 13 days), but showed the first decline in the 2010s (averaging 11.8 days).

High temperatures are expected to continue this spring as well. According to the three-month (February to April) weather forecast released by the Korea Meteorological Administration at the end of last month, temperatures in March and April are expected to be higher than average. The average temperature for March is 5.5 to 6.3 degrees Celsius, and for April, 11.8 to 12.6 degrees Celsius. A meteorological official stated, "The characteristics of the warm winter temperatures seem likely to continue into spring," adding, "Although there is a possibility of a cold snap in mid to late March, overall temperatures will not be low." The national average temperature in January this year was 2.8 degrees Celsius, the highest since related observations began in 1973. The average maximum and minimum temperatures in December last year were also 7.7 degrees and -1.1 degrees Celsius, respectively, setting new records again.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.