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Korea - Climate

Part of the East Asian monsoonal region, South Korea has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. The movement of air masses from the Asian continent exerts greater influence on South Korea's weather than does air movement from the Pacific Ocean. Winters are usually long, cold, and dry, whereas summers are short, hot, and humid. Spring and autumn are pleasant but short in duration. Seoul's mean temperature in January is -5° C to - 2.5° C; in July the mean temperature is about 22.5° C to 25° C. Because of its southern and seagirt location, Cheju Island has warmer and milder weather than other parts of South Korea. Mean temperatures on Cheju range from 2.5° C in January to 25° C in July.

In 2020 South Korea, followed by 2019's seven typhoons, a record number since 1959, the peninsula was hit with three tropical cyclones in a span of two weeks. The Pacific typhoon season has been an ongoing event where tropical cyclones form in the western Pacific Ocean, where we expect such heavy rains and strong winds. What's interesting though, is following last year's record of seven typhoons, a record number since 1959, first, there were no cyclone developments in the month of July, and instead, we experienced the longest rainy season, which lasted 54 days before letting up on 16 August 2020. A week later, Korea was hit by Typhoon Bavi, which was followed by back-to-back Typhoon Maysak and Typhoon Hishen a few days later.

Koreans face substantially reduced air quality due to the yellow dust known as hwangsa from Mongolian deserts every spring. Along with this yellow dust, pollution from China is also added, thereby making Korea’s air quality definitively worse. The yellow dust has blown into Korea from the dry Mongolian desert for a long time. The hwangsa brings particles that are mostly between 1 and 10 µm. It also carries various minerals, such as aluminum, calcium, potassium, and silicon, from Chinese industrial areas.

President Moon Jae-in on 07 March 2019 ordered to arrange emergency countermeasures with China to minimize the fallout of the fine dust particles coming in from the neighboring country. China had been blamed for a large portion of the dirty air and yellow dust that blows in onto the Korean Peninsula, leading to a sharp rise in air pollution. The South Korean leader proposed a joint project with China to use artificial rain to wash away the fine dust particles from the air, something already been agreed upon by the environment ministers of the two countries. He also told his aides to discuss measures to lower dust levels with Beijing to improve the effectiveness of the countries' steps.

South Korea was one of the five countries with the worst air pollution in the world in 2017. That's according to a 24 March 2019 report from the OECD on fine dust pollution. Number one was India, followed by China, Vietnam, South Africa and South Korea. The cause of the pollution is coal used for power generation. The report says South Korea burns coal to generate 46 percent of its electricity, far higher than the average among OECD countries of 27 percent. The global average is 38 percent. A South Korean industry official said the problem is that China and Korea will continue to increase their reliance on coal, so it's unlikely that air quality will improve in the next few years. The hwangsa can irritate the soft tissues in the eyes, nose, mouth, and throat, and provoke respiratory and cardiovascular problems due to its high concentration of minerals and other pollutants. It can also damage sensitive equipment, such as computers, and stop production in factories. For instance, it increases the number of defects in silicon wafers produced for use in semiconductor chips and causes painting in automobile factories to stop due to concerns about dust particles getting into the paint. On days when the concentration of particulates is particularly high, hundreds of flights are suspended and approximately 30% of construction workers face lost wages because most construction must stop. The hwangsa also blocks sunlight, hindering the growth of crops.

When special alerts are given on particularly polluted days, half of all vehicles are banned from operating on public roads and all government buildings’ parking lots in Seoul are shut down to discourage workers from using their cars. The elderly, children, and patients with respiratory illnesses are advised to remain indoors for the duration of the alert. Yellow dust has been blowing in more frequently and has become more harmful than ever before to the point that, on March 21, 2017, Seoul had the worst air quality in the world, second only to New Delhi.

The South Korean government says most of the fine dust particles choking Seoul originate from overseas. The research, released on 20 March 2019, found up to 80 percent of ultra-fine dust came from other countries, with most blowing in between November and April. Over the previous five years, around 30 percent of fine dust came from China. Up to 45 percent of ultra-fine dust is produced in South Korea, with Gyeongsangnam-do Province generating the most. The officials also discussed new technologies aimed at protecting the public against the dust.

The amount of yellow dust during the spring could be reduced by preventing desertification in southern Mongolia and northern China. Although China has begun to combat desertification by planting forests, Mongolia has struggled to do so because of a lack of funds. A great deal of this yellow dust ultimately descends upon the Korean peninsula.

While China is often blamed by South Korea as being the main cause of smog that affects it, a joint study released on Wednesday revealed that the haze is actually "Made in South Korea," as more than half of the country's ultrafine dust comes from domestic factors. The study released by South Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research on 20 NOvember 2019 may end the long-lasting blame game that South Korea plays, and more importantly, it can help Northeast Asian countries identify the real causes of pollution and work together to combat it. Conducted by experts from China, South Korea and Japan, the study found that an average of 51.2 percent of ultrafine dust in South Korea comes from domestic factors. At the same time, China and Japan contributed 91 percent and 55.4 percent to their own pollution.

The country generally has sufficient rainfall to sustain its agriculture. Rarely does less than 75 centimeters of rain fall in any given year; for the most part, rainfall is over 100 centimeters. Amounts of precipitation, however, can vary from year to year. Serious droughts occur about once every eight years, especially in the rice-producing southwestern part of the country. About two-thirds of the annual precipitation occurs between June and September.

Koreans are confronted with a heavy rainy season every summer, a weather phenomenon known as the monsoon. Annual precipitation ranges from 1000 mm to 1800 mm, but more than half of it falls during the monsoon season, called jangma, during which a stationary monsoon front lingers across the Korean peninsula for about a month in summer from late June to mid-July. Monsoons occur when the moist air over the Pacific meets the cooler continental air mass. The monsoon can inflict massive casualties, leave thousands of people homeless, destroy industrial capacity, and cause severe transportation delays. Although South Korea has developed flood control systems to prevent overall flooding, sudden local torrential rainfall can cause a significant amount of death and destruction.

South Korea is less vulnerable to typhoons than Japan, Taiwan, the east coast of China, or the Philippines. From one to three typhoons can be expected per year. Typhoons usually pass over South Korea in late summer, especially in August, and bring torrential rains. Flooding occasionally causes considerable damage. In September 1984, record floods caused the deaths of 190 people and left 200,000 homeless. This disaster prompted the North Korean government to make an unprecedented offer of humanitarian aid in the form of rice, medicine, clothes, and building materials. South Korea accepted these items and distributed them to flood victims.

The period in summer called “sambok” refers to the three hottest times. The “chobok,” which means the first heat, comes of 17 July, and July 27th, is “jungbok,” the middle heat. August 16th “malbok,” marks the last heat. In the old days, people believed that on each of these hot days, rice plants would grow by as much as the size of a hand, and after the last heat wave passed, rice grains would begin to form. While the rice was growing taller during the hottest time of the year, farmers would take a brief rest under the shade and replenish their energy by eating hearty, fatty meals. And such a great meal wouldn’t be complete without alcohol. They would make the food and wine more enjoyable by adding a song or two about longevity, loving life, or appreciating fine wine.

More than half of South Korea's weather stations recorded the hottest weather in the country's modern history during 2018. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, 28 weather stations marked new record highs on the 1st day of August. Hongcheon, in Gangwondo-province, reached 41 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature South Korea's seen since records began in 1904. Seoul too reached an all-time high of 39.6 degrees.

The heat continued after dark and into the mornings, causing what meteorologists call "tropical nights." For more than two weeks, it hadn't gotten below 25 degrees. In fact, in Seoul, on August 2nd and 3rd, it didn't even get below 30 -- what they call a" super tropical night." The heat has caused 35 deaths, and made thousands more ill with heat stroke and other symptoms. It's also caused power failures in some regions because the grid couldn't handle the sudden increase in demand for electricity to power fans and air conditioning.

The South Korean Minister of the Interior and Safety commented that the heatwave will be designated as a natural disaster, will free up funds for relief measures.

The Korean Peninsula is heating up at an unparalleled pace. Global warning does't always mean hot weather, but some times it does. South Korea was been under a hot spell in July 2018, with day time highs setting records every day resulting in heat-related illnesses and even deaths. The South Korean president called on his government to swiftly draw up a crisis management manual and create basis for damage compensation. President Moon Jae-in raised the need to include heat wave in the list of natural disasters under the Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety. "I urge you to recognize the prolonged heat wave as a form of special disaster and once again carefully review related measures."

The current disasters and safety act defines "natural disasters" as situations caused by weather conditions such as typhoons, floods, droughts, earthquakes and meteorites, but not intense heat. The nation's disaster control center has been maintaining that stance citing reasons that temperature fluctuations following seasonal changes were predictable. But, with rising death toll and damages from heat-related causes, the South Korean government recently decided to support the National Assembly when it reviews revision of the related laws.

As the air and sea temperatures rise, pollack, cod and other staple fish are on the verge of extinction, while mackerel, anchovy and squid are becoming ubiquitous and cheaper. Apple orchards are being replaced by tangerine, banana and kiwi farms. Summer birds like white and night herons are spotted all year round. Double rice harvest, which was once possible on the southernmost island of Jeju only, is spreading to upper regions.

There were four distinct seasons in Korea. Recently, however, the length of winter has become shorter with longer summer than the past. Based on current model simulation, it is very likely that the flowering dates of Japanese Cherry is expected to be earlier by 9, 21 and 29 days, compared with the current normal (1971-2000), in the future normal years 2011-2040, 2041-2070 and 2071-2100, respectively.

Among the hardest hit was Alaskan pollack, or “myeongtae,” one of Korea’s favorite delicacies in wintertime. Its nationwide catch went from more than 165,000 tons in 1981 to less than 10,000 tons in 1993 then to near zero in 2008. Currently around 90 percent of pollack consumed in Korea is imported from Japan or Russia.

In the span of the last century average temperature has risen In the span of the last century average temperature has risen by 1.5°C (global average has C (global average has risen by 0.6 risen by 0.6°C). Temperature has risen from 12 Temperature has risen from 12°C in the 20th century to 13.5 C in the 20th century to 13.5°C in the 21st century C in the 21st century even when excluding the effects of urbanization, the even when excluding the effects of urbanization, there was an increase of 0.4 re was an increase of 0.4 -0.8°C (larger impact of urbanization rather than global warming) arming).

During the past 20 years, annual rainfall and days with heavy rainfall and days with heavy rainfall has increased in the rainfall has increased in the Southern region of Korea Southern region of Korea. Increase of annual rainfall by 7% and days with heavy rainfal and days with heavy rainfall by 23% l by 23%. Decrease of annual number of rainy days by 14% Decrease of annual number of rainy days by 14%.

Occurrence of extreme natural disasters such as the heaviest snowfall in 32 years, the worst draught in history, and the heaviest rainfall in 37 years, are rising in frequency and intensity. It is estimated that the average temperature will rise 1.2° by the 2020's, 2.4 by the 2020's, 2.4°C by the 2050's, and C by the 2050's, and 4.0°C by the 2080's. A rise in frequency and intensity of damage due to agricultura disaster. The frequency of typhoon, hurricane, heavy snow, drought, hail,, yellow sand storms, etc has increased from 48 cases in 1910 to 190 cases in 1990.

Regions ideal for cultivation will Regions ideal for cultivation will proceed northward and expand proceed northward and expand due to global warming due to global warming.

Cultivation areas for warm season fruits including tangerine, citron, and kiwi fruit will expand. Cultivation areas for temperate fruit trees such as apples, pears, peaches, grapes, etc are expected to face difficulties if global warming continues. Parts of the region cultivating apples may have to abandon future cultivation.

In August-September 2020 Korea faced three typhoons in less than ten days - Bavi, Maysak, and Haishen. The series of tropical storms came after a record-breaking monsoon that lasted 54 days, the longest in recorded Korean history. Normally, Korea gets one or two typhoons in autumn - in 2019 there were seven. The main reason for the increase is climate change. In all of South Korea's history, the weather has never been this turbulent. Climate change and global warming have changed many factors that actually generate typhoons and determine a storm's trajectory and strength.

There are largely three factors. One, the anti-cyclones in the Northern Pacific region, two, the temperature of the ocean surface surrounding the area, and lastly, the upper current that flows north of the Peninsula from west to east. Usually in the fall, the anti-cyclone dissipates, allowing typhoons to veer toward the Japanese islands along its edge. But climate change has pushed the anti-cyclone farther west, sending typhoons toward Korea. On the one hand, global warming has raised the temperature of the ocean, which makes typhoons stronger because warm sea waters generate energy as they evaporate, and typhoons use that as fuel. Higher sea levels could also cause more damage along the coast from bigger waves. Recent studies show that the enormous amount of rainfall accompanying the typhoons will bring destructive flooding and landslides.

Korea has actively engaged in efforts to tackle climate change. In 2009, Korea announced its voluntary mitigation target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% from the business-as-usual (BAU) level by 2020. It has also enacted the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth in 2011 to provide the legal basis for climate policies and actions. The Framework Act was followed by important measures across all sectors, including the GHG and Energy Target Management System (TMS) (2012), National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Roadmap (2014), Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) (2014) and National Climate Change Adaptation Plans (2010, 2015).