Seoul records 26th consecutive “tropical night”

The South Korean capital Seoul recorded its 26th consecutive “tropical night” on Friday, August 16, when the temperature does not drop below 25 degrees between sunset and sunrise. Such a series was previously recorded in 2018, but the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) considers the 2024 one as a record.

“The cold air is not coming from the north and as we are affected by the southwest side which is warmer, the temperature is continuously recorded around 25°C or more,” Seoul’s weather forecast division director Youn Ki-han told AFP. Nighttime temperatures in Seoul did not drop below 26.8°C for 26 days in a row. The intense nighttime heat is expected to continue, the KMA’s Seoul office said.

Busan, South Korea’s second-largest city in the southeastern part of the peninsula, recorded its 22nd consecutive “tropical night,” the longest streak since records began in the city in 1904. The KMA recorded a maximum temperature of 38.7 degrees Celsius in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, in the north of the country, on Monday. In the same context, South Korea also saw a record for electricity consumption on Monday due to the use of air conditioning and fans.

Much of the world is enduring a summer of intense heat. In July, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a “extreme heat epidemic” and called for measures to limit the impact of heat waves aggravated by climate change.