Heat wave to continue into weekend before rain

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Heat wave to continue into weekend before rain

A scorching heat wave will continue to impact much of Korea throughout the weekend before giving way to rain early next week under the influence of two typhoons approaching Northeast Asia, weather forecasters said Friday.

With heat wave warnings and advisories in effect nationwide, the daily high temperatures will surge above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in Seoul and most other regions until Sunday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The KMA said it upgraded its heat wave advisory for 10 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, to a heat wave warning as of 11 a.m., saying extremely hot weather above 35 degrees Celsius will persist over this weekend. The mercury already reached 35.1 degrees Celsius in Gapyeong, 34.6 degrees Celsius in Anseong and 34.3 degrees Celsius in Uiwang before noon.

Gyeonggi’s provincial government said the number of patients with heat-related illnesses had reached 235 as of Wednesday.

Heat wave warnings and advisories are issued when daytime highs are projected to exceed 35 degrees Celsius and 33 degrees Celsius, respectively, for at least two days. The agency asked that citizens in the regions gripped by sultry weather minimize outdoor activities and drink enough water.

Maintenance workers at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, were busy spraying water on the runways, as the surface temperature soared to a daily high of 58.5 degrees Celsius Friday afternoon.

Many towns in the mountainous province of Gangwon were also put under heat wave warnings, as the daily high temperatures rose above 35 degrees Celsius in the areas. The daily highs will also surge above 35 degrees Celsius in Busan, Daegu, Daejeon and other parts of the country through this weekend, the KMA said.

Meanwhile, Typhoon Lekima, the ninth of the season, is forecast to make landfall in southern China this weekend before moving over the Shandong Peninsula, just across the Yellow Sea from South Korea’s western coast, early next week, the KMA said.

Lekima, a mid-scale typhoon, was moving north at a speed of 21 kilometers per hour (13 miles per hour) from the sea about 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Taipei as of 3 a.m. Friday. The typhoon is expected to reach an area about 130 kilometers northwest of Qingdao, a Chinese city on the Shandong Peninsula, at around 3 a.m. Tuesday. Its future path is not yet known, but rain is forecast in Korea on Monday and Tuesday under the direct or indirect influence of Lekima.

Typhoon Krosa, the 10th of the season, is likely to head for Japan, though its exact route still remains uncertain.

Yonhap
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