Korea experiences record-breaking streak of tropical nights amid unrelenting heat wave

Children play in a fountain on Jeju Island amid ongoing tropical nights, Saturday. Yonhap

Seoul, Busan and many other parts of the country have been breaking records for the longest streak of consecutive tropical nights, with Seoul having 28 such nights as of Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

As the intense heat is forecast to persist for the time being despite forecasts of heavy rain across the country early this week, the regions are expected to continue setting new records every day.

The KMA said Seoul’s lowest temperature from Saturday night to Sunday morning was 27 degrees Celsius, marking the 28th consecutive tropical night since July 21.

A tropical night refers to overnight temperatures remaining at or above 25 degrees from 6:01 p.m. to 9 a.m. the following day.

Seoul’s 28 nights were the longest stretch of tropical nights since modern meteorological 한국을 observations began in Seoul in 1907. The previous record was 26 nights set in 2018.

Busan has experienced 24th tropical nights in a row since July 25, the most for the region, with its previous record of 21 consecutive days set in 1994 and matched again in 2018.

On Jeju Island, tropical nights have persisted for the 34th consecutive day since July 15, surpassing a month of unrelenting heat. This marks the third-longest stretch in the province since observations began there in 1923, behind the 44-day record set in 2013 and a 39-day streak in 2016.

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