Korea’s seas are warming more than twice as fast as the global ocean

South Korea's seas are warming at an alarming rate, more than twice the global ocean's increase, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration's latest analysis. The number of marine heatwave days has surged 3.7 times over the past decade, with sea surface temperatures around the Korean Peninsula rising by 0.7°C in the same period.

The East Sea, or Sea of Japan, has experienced particularly rapid warming, with an average temperature increase of 0.8°C and an average of 96.1 marine heatwave days per year. Even under low-emissions scenarios, sea surface temperatures around South Korea are expected to rise further by the end of the century, reaching 1.5°C higher in a low-carbon scenario and 2.2°C in an intermediate scenario.

Marine heatwave days are also projected to increase significantly, by 181 in the low-carbon scenario and 231 in the intermediate scenario.