‘Super tropical nights’ with nighttime temperatures over 30 degrees

As the heat wave continues unabated, a ‘super tropical night’ has emerged in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, with a nighttime low temperature of over 30 Celsius degrees. On Thursday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said that the nighttime minimum temperature in Gangneung last night was 30.5 Celsius degrees, making it as hot as midday even at night when temperatures are supposed to drop.

In addition to Gangneung, tropical nights were reported in almost all regions of the country, including Seoul (25.9 degrees), Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province (25.2 degrees), Jeonju, North Jeolla Province (25.7 degrees), Pohang, South Gyeongsang Province (28.0 degrees), and Jeju (28.1 degrees). Tropical night refers to when the minimum temperature is 25 degrees or higher from the previous night (6 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next day).

On Wednesday, when the super tropical night occurred, the daytime high temperature in Gangneung reached 38 degrees. "Normally, the daily temperature difference tends to converge at 6 to 8 degrees,” an official from the Korea Meteorological Administration said. “As the high daytime temperatures continue, the nighttime temperatures are also not dropping." According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, if the hot and humid southwesterly winds continue due to typhoons, the phenomenon of a super tropical night, where temperatures do not fall below 30 Celsius degrees, is expected to continue.


yeah@donga.com