Temperature in Seoul exceeds 30 C for 1st time this year
Children play in a fountain at Seoul Forest in eastern Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
The temperature in Seoul exceeded 30 degrees Celsius for the first time this year on Wednesday, hours after setting a new record for the highest daily minimum temperature for May, the state weather agency said.
The mercury rose to as high as 30.8 C in the capital city, which was 6.2 C higher than in the average year, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Other parts of the country also saw similarly high temperatures, including 35.2 C in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, and 30.7 C in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province.
In Seoul, there have only been 70 days when the daily maximum temperature for May exceeded 30 C since modern meteorological observations began in the city in October 1907.
The KMA said earlier that Seoul and many other regions nationwide had the hottest May morning on record on the day due to the influx of hot and humid southerly winds.
In Seoul, the lowest temperature of the day was 23 C, recorded at 5:53 a.m., the highest daily minimum temperature of May since modern meteorological observations began. It was 1.2 C higher than the previous record of 21.8 C set on May 16, 2018, the KMA noted.
The lowest morning temperature in Incheon, some 35 kilometers west of Seoul, was 20.7 C, recorded at 5:50 a.m., which was also the highest daily minimum temperature of May in the city.
The same records were also set in many southeastern regions, as the lowest morning temperature was 23.8 C in Pohang, 23.4 C in Uljin, 23.3 C on Ulleung Island and 22 C in Yeongdeok.
The KMA said the unusually hot weather for May will continue for the time being.
On Thursday, daytime temperatures are expected to return to average year levels, with the maximum ranging from 18 C to 27 C.
Rain is forecast for the capital area, Gangwon Province and the inlands of the Chungcheong provinces starting early Thursday morning. (Yonhap)