This year’s springtime temperatures were the second highest on record, and the ocean temperatures hit the highest in a decade due to the influence of climate change, the state weather agency said Wednesday.

The average temperature from March to May this year was 13.2 C, up 1.3 C from the previous years, and the second highest reported since 1973, when the country’s meteorological observation network was established nationwide, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

All of the 10 highest springtime temperatures were reported after the year 2014, except for in 1998.

The KMA blamed climate change as a fundamental cause of the high temperatures.

The average sea surface temperature off South Korea was 14.1 C during spring this year, the highest in a decade. That is 1.1 C higher than the average sea surface temperatures of the past 10 years.

Meanwhile, yellow dust was also witnessed for 7.6 days during the springtime in 2024, 2.3 days more than normal years, whereas precipitation was simi
lar to average years at 266.7 millimeters, according to the KMA.

Source: Yonhap News Agency