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Flower festivals delayed due to unusually cold conditions

Published: 05 Mar. 2025, 12:33 Updated: 05 Mar. 2025, 17:38

A warbling white-eye bird perches on a plum tree branch in Jeju Island on Feb. 26. Plum blossoms have not officially fully bloomed anywhere else in Korea as of March 5, according to the Korea Meteorological Association. [YONHAP]

The blooming of plum blossoms appears to be delayed nationwide this year, causing organizers of related festivals to fall into panic and confusion.

Local governments hosting plum blossom festivals have faced setbacks. The plum blossom festival in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang, which opened on Saturday, took place without any blooming flowers. Suncheon, South Jeolla, initially scheduled its festival for Feb. 22 but postponed it twice and is now set to hold the event on March. 8.

This is in stark contrast to last year in Pohang, North Gyeongsang, where plum blossoms bloomed 32 days earlier than the annual average.

The flower festival in Gwangyang, South Jeolla, which attracts around 1 million visitors annually, is also on alert ahead of its opening on Friday.

A Gwangyang city official said that the flowers only bloomed at one-fifth of their fullest extent, prompting the city to “monitor the situation.”

Three people observe blossoming plum in Busan on Feb. 24. [NEWS1]

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), plum blossoms have not fully bloomed anywhere except Jeju Island. Even in February, the sprouting period varied widely. Some regions saw budding a month earlier than usual, while others were delayed by more than a week.

On Heuksan Island, South Jeolla, sprouting occurred 36 days earlier than usual on Feb. 1, but the flowers have yet to bloom.

This delay is attributed to two Arctic cold waves that hit Korea in February. The first, which began on Feb. 3 and lasted a week, was severe enough to freeze the Han River. The second, which occurred from Feb. 18 to 24 at the end of winter, brought midwinter-level cold.

The national average temperature in February was minus 0.5 degrees Celsius (31.1 degrees Fahrenheit), 1.4 degrees lower than the annual average and nearly 5 degrees lower than last year’s 4.1 degrees.

Plum blossom begin blooming in Busan as winter fades on Feb. 24. Daily temperatures in the city hovered between minus 4 and 8 degrees Celsius (24.8 and 46.4 degrees Fahrenheit) on the same day. [NEWS1]

The KMA attributes the intensified negative Arctic Oscillation — a condition that brings cold weather to Korea — due to a low-pressure system that developed over the North Atlantic, pushing warm air into the Arctic.

The Arctic Oscillation refers to the periodic strengthening and weakening of the polar vortex, a mass of cold air in the Arctic stratosphere, due to internal variations in atmospheric circulation over periods ranging from several days to several weeks.

When a negative Arctic Oscillation occurs, the vortex weakens, allowing cold air to move southward from the Arctic into regions of the northern hemisphere.

Gwangyang in South Jeolla holds the Gwangyang Maehwa Festival annually. This year, it will be held from March 7 to 17. [YONHAP]

“The cold weather is preventing plum blossoms from blooming, but if the temperature rises suddenly for a few days, they will bloom right away,” said Jeong Su-jong, a professor at Seoul National University's Graduate School of Environmental Studies.

Jeong said that plum blossoms require both a certain level of cold and warm temperatures to bloom. While the “chilling requirement” has been met, only the “heat requirement” remains unfulfilled.

The blooming of cherry blossoms, which is significantly influenced by February and March temperatures, is also difficult to predict. If February’s low temperatures are taken into account, they may bloom later than usual, like the plum blossoms.

However, if March is unusually warm, they could bloom earlier than expected. The KMA forecasts an 80 percent chance that March temperatures will be similar to or higher than the annual average.

People take pictures with their phones of the blooming plum blossom in Changwon, South Gyeongsang, on Feb. 22, 2024. [YONHAP]

Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul, which hosts a cherry blossom festival, is also deliberating on its schedule for this reason.

“Festival visitors expect the cherry blossoms to be in full bloom, not just blooming, but predicting the peak bloom period is even more difficult,” a district official said. “We are considering two possible schedules and will monitor the situation until the last moment before making a decision.”

Predicting the blooming of spring flowers will likely remain challenging in the future, as rising average temperatures are causing greater temperature fluctuations.

On Mar. 22, 2023, Seoul recorded an all-time high daily maximum temperature of 25.1 degrees since observations began in 1907. Last year, the maximum daily temperature in Baengnyeong Island, Incheon, also set a record at 18.8 degrees on Mar. 24.

“We predict that cherry blossoms will bloom four to seven days earlier than usual this year, but if March temperatures are warmer than expected, they could bloom even sooner,” said Lee Jae-jung, head of the forecasting team at private weather information provider KWeather.

People take pictures of plum blossoms with their phones in Busan on March 5. Plum blossoms have not officially fully bloomed anywhere else in Korea except Jeju Island as of the same day, according to the Korea Meteorological Association. [YONHAP]

BY JEONG EUN-HYE, KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]