Seoul, March 23 (IANS) South Korea’s southeastern regions reported record high temperatures for March on Sunday due to unusually warm and dry high-pressure winds, the weather agency said.
Gumi, a city in North Gyeongsang Province, 200 kilometres southeast of Seoul, soared to 28.5 degrees Celsius, the highest March temperature recorded since authorities began to observe data in January 1973, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. The previous record was 27.3 degrees Celsius on March 29, 1998.
Other southern regions also registered record-breaking temperatures, including Daegu at 27.9 degrees Celsius, Andong at 25.7 degrees Celsius, and Gyeongju – the host city for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit — at 27.8 degrees Celsius.
The central region of Daejeon, and Incheon, west of Seoul, also set new records of 26.4 degrees Celsius and 25.5 degrees Celsius, respectively, the KMA said.
Seoul recorded 24.0 degrees Celsius and was among a few other cities that recorded their second-highest March temperatures on record.
The unusually high temperatures are primarily due to the hot and dry westerly winds, the agency said. With the persisting dry conditions, the KMA said it estimates temperatures will remain 3 to 11 degrees higher than the seasonal average for some time, Yonhap news agency reported.
South Korea is experiencing extreme temperatures, including record-breaking heatwaves, due to a combination of factors, including global warming, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and specific weather patterns like high-pressure systems and monsoon variability.
South Korea is one of the world’s top emitters, but it has a plan to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 40 per cent below 2018 levels by 2030, and aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Industrialisation and population growth have led to increased emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change.
Upper-level high pressure over the Korean Peninsula, induced by zonal CGT-like wave train patterns, can lead to heat waves.
–IANS
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