By 2080, Busan and Gwangju Will Experience 'Spring Summer Autumn Autumn' Due to Climate Change

KMA Forecast... Winter Disappears in Southern Regions
Jeju Island to Experience 211 Days of Summer by End of This Century

If greenhouse gases continue to be emitted at the current rate, winters will disappear in the southern regions and Jeju by the end of the 21st century, according to projections.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced on the 29th the climate change projection results for 17 metropolitan cities and provinces, over 220 counties and districts, and more than 3,500 towns and townships, based on the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

This result uses two IPCC climate change scenarios (low carbon and high carbon) and a high-resolution (1km) scenario for the southern Korean Peninsula produced last year. It includes temperature (average, maximum, minimum), precipitation, 27 extreme climate indices such as heatwaves and tropical nights, and seasonal length for metropolitan cities and provinces, counties and districts, and towns and townships from the present (2000?2019) to the future (up to 2100).

The chimney of the Shin Incheon Combined Cycle Power Plant in Seo-gu, Incheon

Looking at the climate change projections for metropolitan local governments, under the scenario of 'emitting greenhouse gases at a level similar to the present,' eight areas including Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Ulsan, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Gyeongnam, and Jeju are expected to lose their winters in the latter half of this century (2081?2100). Cold waves will also disappear. A cold wave day is defined as a day when the morning minimum temperature is below -12°C, and under the high carbon scenario, metropolitan local governments except Gangwon, Chungbuk, Gyeonggi, and Gyeongbuk will have no cold wave days at all by the end of this century.

With winters disappearing, Jeju is expected to experience summer for about 211 days, approximately 60% of the year, by the end of this century. As summers lengthen, heatwaves and tropical nights will become more frequent. Under the high carbon scenario, the number of heatwave days is projected to be between 69.1 and 120.1 days, and tropical night days between 55.2 and 103.3 days by the end of this century.

Meanwhile, these climate change projections can be accessed on the Climate Information Portal. The KMA plans to release projections applying a medium-level greenhouse gas emission scenario, as well as forecasts for relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation, next year.

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