South Korea records its highest-ever temperature
Seoul, SOUTH KOREA—South Korea registered on Sunday its highest temperature since records began more than a century ago, according to the state weather agency.
The southeastern city of Yangsan saw the temperature reach 42.5 degrees Celsius at 1:26 p.m. (0426 GMT), the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said on its website.
Yangsan has been the epicenter of the ongoing heat wave, where temperatures exceeded 40 C for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday. Much of South Korea has been placed under heat warnings, with many cities seeing temperatures climb into the high 30 C.
More than 20 localities were on Sunday under emergency heat wave alerts, a new warning category introduced this year to better address rising temperatures.
An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heat wave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38 C or an actual temperature of 39 C for one day.
KMA data show the average annual number of heat wave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 over the past five years, from eight in the 1970s.
