Seoul: South Korea's southeastern regions set record high temperatures for March on Sunday due to unusually warm and dry high-pressure winds, the weather agency said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Gumi, a city in North Gyeongsang Province, 200 kilometers southeast of Seoul, soared to 28.5 C, the highest March temperature recorded since authorities began to observe data in January 1973, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said. The previous record was 27.3 C on March 29, 1998.
Other southern regions also registered record-breaking temperatures, including Daegu at 27.9 C, Andong at 25.7 C, and Gyeongju -- the host city for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit -- at 27.8 C.
The central region of Daejeon, and Incheon, west of Seoul, also set new records of 26.4 C and 25.5 C, respectively, the KMA said. Seoul recorded 24.0 C and was among a few other cities that recorded their second-highest March temperatures on record.
The unusually high temperatures are primarily due to the hot and dry westerly winds, the agency said. With the persisting dry conditions, the KMA said it estimates temperatures will remain 3 to 11 degrees higher than the seasonal average for some time.