Korea to have 6 months of summer, 3 months of winter later this century: study

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By Lee Hae-rin

The climate crisis will lengthen Korea's summers to as long as half a year and bring more heat waves while shortening the winter to under three months during the latter 21st century, according to a recent report by the nation's weather agency, Thursday.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) published the weather scenarios for Korea based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's report on environmental change in the Korean Peninsula under low- and high-carbon scenarios.

According to the report, in a high-carbon scenario, the average temperature of the peninsula will rise by 1.6 to 2.9 degrees Celsius between 2041 and 2060 compared to now, and by 2.3 to 6.3 degrees between 2081 and 2100.

The duration of the seasons will change as well. Summer is expected to be longer, reaching up to six months in the late 21st century, from the current average of 97 days. In contrast, winter could be shortened from 107 days to less than three months.

Rainfall is also expected to increase as the atmosphere becomes warmer and more humid. Precipitation may increase in the mid-21st century by 5 percent to 7 percent from now, and even by up to 18 percent later this century.

However, in a low-carbon emission scenario, where the nation achieves its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, these changes would be significantly slowed down.