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April's unusual heatwave: South Korea records third warmest April, dry conditions prevail later in month

From Hankyoreh · (4m ago) Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • April saw unusually high temperatures across South Korea, with the national average temperature ranking third highest since 1973.
  • Mid-April experienced a significant heatwave, with the average temperature for that period being the second highest on record.
  • While the first ten days of April saw frequent rain, the latter half was marked by dry, arid conditions, with rainfall in the final ten days being the second lowest recorded.

South Korea experienced an exceptionally warm April, with the national average temperature reaching 13.8 degrees Celsius, marking it as the third warmest April since records began in 1973. This significant deviation from the norm, 1.7 degrees Celsius higher than the 1991-2020 average, has drawn attention from meteorologists.

The average temperature for the entire country last month was 13.8 degrees Celsius, the third highest for the same period since 1973.

— Korea Meteorological AdministrationReporting on the unusually high temperatures experienced in April.

The unusual warmth was particularly pronounced in the middle of the month, which saw an average temperature of 15.4 degrees Celsius, the second highest for mid-April on record. This period was characterized by clear skies and rising temperatures, leading to some areas, like Seoul, experiencing record-breaking highs for April 19th, with the capital reaching a peak of 29.4 degrees Celsius.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, this anomaly was driven by a strong high-pressure system developing over the Korean Peninsula. This system was influenced by the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) being in a positive phase, which strengthens atmospheric waves in mid-latitudes, leading to clear and dry weather over Korea. Additionally, suppressed convection in tropical regions south and east of the South China Sea contributed to the development of this high-pressure system.

The average temperature for the middle of the month nationwide was 15.4 degrees Celsius, the second highest for the same period.

— Korea Meteorological AdministrationDetailing the extent of the mid-April heatwave.

While the first ten days of April saw rainfall close to the average, the latter half of the month was remarkably dry. The final ten days recorded only 1.4 millimeters of rain, the second lowest amount for that period. This dryness has led to meteorological drought conditions in regions like the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon Province, the most severe for April in the last decade. The average sea surface temperature around Korea also remained high, ranking second highest in the last ten years.

This was due to the development of a strong anticyclonic circulation near the Korean Peninsula.

— Korea Meteorological AdministrationExplaining the atmospheric conditions that led to the abnormal warmth.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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