The capital city of South Korea has experienced the most consecutive "tropical nights" since 2000, the state weather agency said Saturday.

The so-called tropical night phenomenon is defined by nighttime lows staying above 25 degrees Celsius, with nighttime being from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. It often happens when monsoon season ends, which falls in July in general for the country.

The overnight low in Seoul came to 28.2 C on Friday to mark the eighth straight tropical night since July 27, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The eight sweltering nights are the longest period since 2000 when the weather agency began recording such data, the KMA said.

The previous record was seven nights in a row in 2004, with the unofficial record before the year 2000 being set in 1994 when Seoul had 14 tropical nights in a row, it added.

Amid the ongoing heat wave nationwide, overnight lows also soared well above the threshold in most parts of the country on Friday, with Incheon, west of Seoul, at 27.6 C, the southern resort island of Jeju at 26.9 C and southeastern city of Daegu at 26.8 C.

Weather forecasts said the scorching heat is expected to continue, with the mercury being forecast to soar above 37 C in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, and 35 C in Seoul by Saturday afternoon. (Yonhap News)