Korean summers getting longer, hotter

An Oriental greenfinch gets some water relief at Namdaecheon Stream in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, on June 24 as extreme heat continues. / Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

Korea's summers are getting hotter and longer since 1910, raising concerns that Seoul residents are in for an even sultrier, more suffocating season this year.

Summer in six major cities ― Seoul, Incheon, Daegu, Busan, Mokpo and Gangneung ― has become about a month longer since 1910, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.

The number of summer days has also climbed from 80-110 in the 1910 decade to 110-140 in the 2010 decade.

Summer last year (2016) was the longest yet with 142 days in a row above 20C, as defined by the KMA.

In the 1910 decade the figure was 94, which had increased to 103 in the 1960s.

Daegu and Gwangju, where heat alerts were issued last week, now have the nicknames of "Daefrica" and "Gwangfrica," respectively, in reference to the heat in Africa.

May was an indicator that Korea was in for a long summer, with hotter temperatures than average. The average highest temperature has broken records annually for the past three years.

The first summer day was in June in the 1910s. In the 1970s, Daegu had the nation's first summer day in May.

In the 2010 decade, all six cities except Incheon had their first summer days in May. This happened in all six cities last year.

Longer summers mean shorter winters. Since 1910, winter days have decreased from 132 days to 110 days in 2010. Winter days in Busan also decreased from 72 to 61. Across the country, the average number of winter days has fallen from 129 in 1973 to 78 in the past year.

Global warming has also pushed back the start of winter from November to late December.

"With high population density and city concentration, seasonal climate differentials in Korea are usually more drastic than areas in lower latitudes where a vast proportion is tropical," a KMA official said.

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