Seoul: South Korea experienced its second hottest July on record this year as sweltering heat waves and tropical nights gripped the nation, the weather agency said Tuesday. The average nationwide temperature last month stood at 27.1 C, marking the second-highest ever for July since nationwide weather observations began in 1973, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
According to Yonhap News Agency, the nation experienced its hottest July in 1994, when the average temperature reached 27.7 C. Last month, the country reported 14.5 days of heat waves -- when the daily maximum temperature exceeds 33 C -- marking the third most for July, behind 17.7 days in 1994 and 15.4 days in 2018.
South Korea also recorded 6.7 tropical nights last month, marking the fourth most on record. The country began seeing high temperatures in early July, driven by the earlier-than-usual influence of the North Pacific high-pressure system. It suffered more heat waves toward the end of the month due to the dual influences of the North Pacific high and the Tibetan high.
The nation experienced heavy downpours between the heat waves in early and late July, receiving 249 millimeters of rain in total last month, less than the long-term average of 296.5 mm for July.