Number of extreme heat days increases 2.4 times in major cities over decade: Greenpeace

The number of days with extreme heat in major cities across South Korea increased 2.4 times over the past decade compared with the previous 10 years, Greenpeace said Tuesday. The nongovernmental environmental organization released the findings after analyzing official meteorological data from the past five decades for 25 cities across the nation, including Seoul, Busan and Incheon. According to the analysis, the cities experienced an average of 51.1 days of extreme heat, as defined as apparent temperatures of 35 C or higher, during the past decade, from 2014 to last year, compared with 21 days recorded from 2004 to 2013. During the past decade, such extreme heat lasted an average of 2.4 days once it started, compared with 1.9 days in the preceding decade. The southern cities of Gumi and Gwangju, 200 kilometers and 267 kilometers south of Seoul, respectively, experienced the most days of extreme heat, recording 106 days and 105 days from 2014 to 2023. The central cities of Daejeon and Daegu followed, wit h 96 days and 83 days recorded, respectively. Gumi and Gwangju, in particular, saw the sharpest increases in the number of extreme heat days. Gumi saw the number jump from 23 to 106, while Gwangju reported an increase from 35 to 105. "The results show that Earth's temperatures are continuing to rise," Lee Sun-ju, a Greenpeace activist, said, calling on the government to work toward cutting greenhouse gas emissions and a long-term response to climate change. Source: Yonhap News Agency