
South Korea in 2024 experienced the hottest year since weather records were first kept 113 years ago, marking an all-time high in the average yearly temperature as well as the number of tropical nights observed, said the Korea Meteorological Administration on Thursday.
According to the KMA, Korea’s yearly average temperature was 14.5 degrees Celsius in 2024, which is 2 C higher than the average temperature of previous years.
The year 2024 also marked the second consecutive year in which high-temperature records were broken. The previous record for the hottest year was set in 2023, with an average temperature of 13.7 C.
The state weather agency added that Korea saw monthly average temperatures rise above the historical norm throughout last year. In particular, September stood out with a monthly average temperature of 24.7 C, which is 4.2 C higher than the usual average for that month.
All heat-related records were broken in 2024.
Tropical nights -- which refer to periods when the lowest temperature between 6:01 p.m. and 9 a.m. the next day remains above 25 C -- occurred 24.5 times, the highest figure Korea has seen since 1973. This number represents a 3.7-fold increase compared to the average number in previous years.
Korea also saw 30.1 heat wave days -- or days when daytime high temperatures reach or exceed 33 C -- the second highest on record and a 2.7-fold increase compared to previous years.
A major reason behind last year’s record-breaking heat was the unusually high sea surface temperatures, according to the KMA. The average sea surface temperature around the Korean Peninsula was 18.6 C, surpassing the 10-year average of 17.3 C by 1.3 C. In September, sea temperatures reached as high as 27.4 C, which is 3.2 C above the 10-year average.
Such high sea surface temperatures contributed to the intensification of the North Pacific High as well as the Tibetan High, two high-pressure systems responsible for Korea’s extreme heat that continued into September.