Extreme heat events to impact Korea from July 27

Korea will be facing intense heat events, starting this week. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) reported on Sunday that the subtropical North Pacific High would end the monsoon season this year by covering the Korean Peninsula on Wednesday.

If the monsoon season ends as reported on Wednesday, the monsoon period would be similar or slightly longer than average. Since nationwide weather observation in 1973, the average monsoon season started around June 23 to 25 and ended around July 24 to 26, lasting for around 31 to 32 days. The monsoon season in 2002 started on June 23 and ended on July 27, lasting for 35 days.

Some regions may see showers in the afternoon until July 27. The KMA reported that South Gyeongsang Province may see showers in the afternoon of Monday, while North Jeolla, South Gyeongsang, Gwangju may be affected on the following day. On Wednesday, showers may be seen in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, Gangwon, South Chungcheong and some parts of North Jeolla.

Starting from Wednesday, Korea will be impacted by the North Pacific High, a subtropical high pressure system. As humid and hot air dominate the upper and lower skies of the Korean Peninsula, this will cause a heat dome. According to the KMA, it will take some time to determine how long and intense the heat wave will last, given that the monsoon season was similar to annual average. In 2018, when the heat wave lasted for the longest period since weather observation, the monsoon season ended earlier than average (around July 11), resulting in longer and hotter days.


Mee-Jee Lee image@donga.com