Climate change hits Korea

By Park Si-soo

Global warming or climate change has been thought of as something reserved for the next generation to worry about. However, the weather affecting the Korean Peninsula these days would seem to belie this.

Recent weather conditions — quite different from the norm — indicate that Korea is already under the influence of global warming, weather experts say.

Weeks of downpours, sizzling summer heat and record snowfall last winter are all associated with the phenomenon and it is the warmer than usual Pacific Ocean that could be responsible.

The whole country has been soaked with heavy rain for nearly a month and as related damage is reported every day, umbrellas have become a “must-have item.”

“The rain we are experiencing now is obviously not typical,” said Kim Seung-bae, a spokesman for the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Sunday.

Kim admitted that the downpours have become more unpredictable, becoming like tropical squalls that hit smaller areas suddenly.

The rain is finally expected to let up this week.

“Sunny weather should dominate throughout the week. But I’m not 100 percent sure,” Kim said, explaining the too-capricious-to-forecast climate.

According to the KMA, a series of unusual weather patterns, witnessed since last winter, are to blame for the unusual high pressure in the North Pacific, caused by warmer-than-usual temperatures.

La Nina, an ocean current that is significantly cooler than the surrounding body of water in the Pacific Ocean, is suspected as being the key factor behind the extended rainfall on the peninsula.

La Nina, the opposite of the El Nino effect — an unusually warm current — has been strengthening recently.

The latest sign of climate change in Korea is the extended rainy season in summer and the consequent decline in the number of sunny days.

The KMA said 24 days in August were rainy in Seoul, the most since modern weather forecasting first introduced here in 1908.

In August alone, the country had 374.5 millimeters of rain, higher than the 304.2 millimeters during the country’s monsoon season between June and July, the state weather agency said.

The unusual pattern is continuing this month with 933.2 millimeters of rain hitting Seoul between Aug. 1 and Sept. 11, accounting for nearly 75 percent of the annual precipitation for the capital, it said.

On top of unusual weather, the southern part of the country is becoming a habitat for plants and species that are generally seen in countries with tropical climates.

Climate experts warned these changes are poised to challenge the country’s ecosystem, making the environment more friendly to such species.

A Bulwer’s Petrel, a bird species whose habitat is in tropical and African countries, was spotted on Jeju Island last month. Catching tropical fish in waters off Jeju and southern coastal areas has also come as no surprise, they said.

The National Fisheries Research and Development Institute recently concluded that the overall ocean and land environment in the southern part of the country has changed to that similar to tropical countries.

Tropical fruits such as guava, papaya and blueberries are being grown in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, 400 kilometers southwest of Seoul, the institute said.

‘온난화 저주’한반도 이상기후

한반도의 기후변화가 심상치 않다. 최근 수주간 계속된 폭우, 지난 겨울과 여름에 있었던 기록적인 폭설과 폭염이 이러한 변화를 뒷받침 한다.

올해 이상저온과 일조량 부족으로 서늘한 봄이 이어지다가 여름철에 들어서는 폭염과 집중호우가 이어졌다. 특히 올해에는 `엘니뇨'와 `라니냐'가 봄과 여름의 기후 이변에 각각 영향을 준 것으로 분석된다.

온난화로 뜨거워진 한반도에서는 여름이 길어지고 겨울이 짧아지는 등 계절 길이 변화가 일어나고 있으며, 그 동안 좀처럼 볼 수 없었던 아열대 생물의 출현 빈도가 잦아지고 있다.