Seoul, Jan 6 Last year was South Korea's second hottest year on record, the weather agency said Tuesday, due to an extended period of hot weather from early summer to autumn.
The country recorded an average temperature of 13.7 degrees Celsius last year, 0.8 degrees Celsius lower than in 2024 and the same as in 2023, tying for the second hottest year since 1973, when South Korea began actively collecting weather data, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Last year's figure was 1.2 degrees Celsius above the annual average of 12.5 degrees Celsius for the 1991-2020 period, reports Yonhap news agency.
Aside from February and May, the monthly average temperature last year in all other months was above the long-term average. June and October last year saw the hottest monthly average temperature on record.
The KMA attributed the extended period of heat last year to the North Pacific High that grew stronger earlier than usual and maintained its strength longer than in previous years.
The pressure system's presence near the country led to high temperatures as hot and humid air flowed in.
The number of days under a nationwide heat wave, or daily highs of 33 degrees Celsius or over, stood at 29.7 last year, far higher than the long-term average of 11 days.
The country saw 16.4 tropical nights last year, compared with the long-term average of 6.6 nights. A tropical night refers to a phenomenon when nighttime lows stay above 25 degrees Celsius.
Daegwallyeong in the eastern mountainous province of Gangwon also saw the temperature rise to 33.1 degrees Celsius on July 26, marking the first time a heat wave was recorded at the 772-meter mountain pass since 1971, when officials began observing weather in the area.
Meanwhile, the average sea surface temperature of waters around the country stood at 17.7 degrees Celsius last year, marking the second-highest figure in the past decade.
The country also saw 1,325.6 millimetres of rainfall last year, similar to the long-term average of 1,331.7 mm.
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