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Temperature in Seoul exceeds 30 degrees for first time this year

Published: 21 May. 2025, 21:31

Children play in the fountain at Seoul Forest in Seongdong District, eastern Seoul, on May 21, as sweltering heat and humidity grip the capital. [YONHAP]

The temperature in Seoul exceeded 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time this year on Wednesday, hours after setting a new record for the highest daily minimum temperature for May, the state weather agency said.

The mercury rose to as high as 30.8 degrees Celsius in the capital city, which was 6.2 degrees Celsius higher than the average year, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

Other parts of the country also saw similarly high temperatures, including 35.2 degrees Celsius in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi, and 30.7 degrees Celsius in Hongseong, South Chungcheong.

In Seoul, there have only been 70 days when the daily maximum temperature for May exceeded 30 degrees Celsius since modern meteorological observations began in the city in October 1907.

The KMA said earlier that Seoul and many other regions nationwide had the hottest May morning on record due to the influx of hot and humid southerly winds.

In Seoul, the lowest temperature of the day was 23 degrees Celsius, recorded at 5:53 a.m., the highest daily minimum temperature of May since modern meteorological observations began. It was 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record of 21.8 degrees Celsius set on May 16, 2018, the KMA noted.

The lowest morning temperature in Incheon, some 35 kilometers west of Seoul, was 20.7 degrees Celsius, recorded at 5:50 a.m., which was also the highest daily minimum temperature of May in the city.

The same records were also set in many southeastern regions, as the lowest morning temperature was 23.8 degrees Celsius in Pohang, 23.4 degrees Celsius in Uljin, 23.3 degrees Celsius on Ulleung Island and 22 degrees Celsius in Yeongdeok.

The KMA said the unusually hot weather for May will continue for the time being.

On Thursday, daytime temperatures are expected to return to average year levels, with the maximum ranging from 18 degrees Celsius to 27 degrees Celsius.

Rain is forecast for the capital area, Gangwon and the inland region of the Chungcheong area starting early Thursday morning.

Yonhap