It has slightly abated, but this week, the heatwave of over 35 degrees Celsius will continue.

Seoul's heatwave finally came to an end this week, after 17 days of sweltering temperatures. The heatwave alert that had been issued last Monday has not been renewed for another day. However, the nationwide heatwave alert continues, with daytime temperatures fluctuating around 35 degrees Celsius. Seoul recorded a low of 24.5 degrees Celsius last night, ending the 17-day streak of extreme heat.

The city experienced near-freezing temperatures of around 29 degrees Celsius last week, before dropping by 4 degrees Celsius and bringing the heatwave to a gradual end. The trend continued until nine days ago, when the highest temperature in Seoul ranged from 29 to 33 degrees Celsius (31.6 degrees Celsius at Songwon observatory).

Based on the Songwon observatory, which is used as the basis for official statistics, 2023's average temperature was 0.7 degrees Celsius higher than the annual average of 30.9 degrees Celsius. The Korea Meteorological Administration suspects that the northwestern center of the high-pressure system moved westward, and the weakening of the eastward wind led to a reduction in the influx of hot air.

The active night-time cooling and the cloud cover caused by the movement of upper-level high-pressure air also contributed to the mitigation of the heatwave. However, heatwave alerts (when the forecasted maximum perceived temperature is 33 degrees Celsius or higher for two consecutive days) remained in effect across most of the country, excluding areas such as Gangwon and Gyeongsangbuk-do.

The heat and humidity are expected to persist throughout the week, with temperatures expected to remain around 35 degrees Celsius. The northwestern Pacific high-pressure system, combined with the Tibetan high-pressure system, typically brings extreme heat in mid to late August. Despite this, the heatwave continued to affect most parts of the country last week.

For example, Incheon, Bucheon, Jecheon, and Gimsan recorded temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius during the last two nights, while Jeju Island experienced heatwaves throughout. According to data from August 8th, South Korea experienced 14.2 days of heatwaves this year, which is two more days than last year. The record for the number of heatwave days this year is the highest in 1, and the average temperature is the second highest.

The Korea Meteorological Administration expects temperatures to rise from 22 to 26 degrees Celsius in the morning and from 29 to 35 degrees Celsius in the afternoon during the mid-term forecast until August 19th. Compared to last year, the number of days with heatwaves increased by 2.5 days, bringing the total to 16.5 days, ranking 4th in history.

The average daily temperature is 25.1 degrees Celsius, ranking 2nd in history. The government has requested the Ministry of Energy to temporarily soften the electricity fee structure during the heatwave period. Jeong Hee-kyung, vice chair of the Democratic Party, commented on the proposal during a press conference, stating that the Ministry of Environment has agreed to actively review the proposal.

The feed system charges higher fees once household electricity consumption exceeds a certain threshold, and has been in effect since 2019. Currently, the fee structure includes three levels: 100kWh for the first level, 50kWh for the second and third levels, and the government is reviewing the expansion of fee tiers and lowering the fees for higher tiers.

Kim Ji-suk, journalist at Hani, can be reached at suoop@hani.co.kr, and Bak Gi-young, journalist at Hani, can be reached at xeno@hani.co.kr.