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Sunflowers in a community garden in Suwon’s Tapdong neighborhood sag under the intense heat of the sun on Aug. 4, 2024, amid an ongoing heat wave nationwide. (Yonhap)

Temperatures in the Yeoju region of Gyeonggi Province climbed to 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 F, Sunday amid an unprecedented heat wave on the Korean Peninsula.

This was the first time that temperatures were recorded in the 40-degree range in Korea in the five years since 2019.

At 3:33 pm on Sunday, an automatic weather system from the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) in the Yeoju township of Jeomdong recorded a temperature of 40 C.

Beachgoers in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, seek relief from the sweltering temperatures at Gyeongpo Beach on Aug. 4, 2024. (Yonhap)

Apart from one instance where Daegu registered 40 C on Aug. 1, 1942, all other cases to date where temperatures of 40 C or higher were recorded on the Korean Peninsula fell in the recent years of 2018 and 2019. The record high of 41 C was registered in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, on Aug. 1, 2018.

The temperature of 40 C in Jeomdong on Sunday was the first in that range in five years. On the same day, an extreme heat warning was issued for all parts of Korea except Mount Halla on Jeju Island.

Ceiling fans installed in a barn in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, run to keep cattle cool in the heat on Aug. 4, 2024. (Yonhap)

Currently, the North Pacific High is blowing warm vapor into the Korean Peninsula’s middle and lower atmospheric levels, while the Tibetan High is blowing hot, dry air at the upper levels, resulting in a stacking of warm air layers.

Similar cases of two powerful highs layering over the Korean Peninsula were found in previous extreme height periods in the summers of 1994 and 2018.

A crowd takes in a performance at Hwaeom Temple on Mount Jiri in South Jeolla Province’s Gurye County on Aug. 3, 2024. (Yonhap)

The continuing extreme heat over the weekend caused rises in deaths and heat-related illnesses. According to Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency figures, a total of 151 people visited emergency rooms on Saturday with acute conditions caused by heat exposure, with three attributed deaths.

As of Aug. 3, a total of 1,546 cases of heat-related illness and 11 attributed deaths had been counted since the heat-related illness emergency room monitoring system went into effect on May 20.

Busan’s Haeundae Beach is crowded with beachgoers on Aug. 3, 2024, at the height of the summer vacation season. (Yonhap)

The extreme heat appears likely to continue until the National Liberation Day holiday on Aug. 15. The KMA predicted that temperatures would remain at a roughly similar level to the present until Aug. 14, with above-average morning temperatures in the range of 23 C to 27 C and daytime temperatures in the range of 30 C to 36 C.

By Jeong Bong-bi, staff reporter

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