On the 29th, as the midday temperature in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, surpassed 40 degrees Celsius, the region faced a scorching heat wave that produced an area breaking 40 degrees for the third straight year in Korea.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, at 3:26 p.m. the temperature in Yangsan reached 40 degrees Celsius. It then climbed further to 40.3 at 3:34 p.m., and since the sun had not yet set, there was a possibility the temperature could rise more.
This is the highest figure since official weather observations began in Yangsan in 2008. It shattered the previous record of 39.3 degrees set just three days earlier, underscoring the power of an unprecedented, cauldron-like heat wave.
The neighboring Busan area also set a new record. Based on the Busan weather observatory, the temperature reached 38.8 degrees around 2:56 p.m., the highest level in 122 years since modern weather observations began there in 1904. It easily surpassed the previous record of 37.3 degrees in 2016 by more than 1 degree. In Buk-gu, Busan, the midday temperature even soared to 39 degrees.
Nearby Gimhae also recorded 38.6 degrees, the second-highest on record, and Sokcho in Gangwon on the east coast rose to 36.6 degrees, marking the second-hottest day in July climate history.