"No Fall This Year, Cold Wave After Heatwave Ends"…Professor Warns of Frightening Outlook [Numbers in the News]

After this year's record-breaking heatwave ends, a cold wave is expected to take hold. In particular, high temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius are predicted to continue until early November, followed by a sudden drop to winter temperatures, potentially causing the disappearance of a 'typical autumn.'

Vacationers cooling off by playing in the water (left), office workers dressed warmly on their way to work (right). [Source=Asia Economy DB]

Professor Kim Haedong of Keimyung University's Department of Environmental Engineering, who predicted that temperatures would exceed 40 degrees Celsius this summer, appeared on CBS's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" on the 23rd and said, "I expect this winter to be very cold," adding, "The pattern this winter will be somewhat similar to the winters of 2021 and 2022, when temperatures dropped below minus 18 degrees Celsius." He also forecasted that long summers, short autumns, and cold winters will continue in the future.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration's "2024 Summer (June-August) Climate Analysis Results," the national average temperature this summer was 25.6 degrees Celsius, 1.9 degrees higher than the normal average of 23.7 degrees, marking the highest since the expansion of the meteorological observation network in 1973. The number of "heatwave days," defined as days with a maximum temperature of 33 degrees or higher, averaged 24.0 days nationwide, ranking third all-time, while tropical night days, when the minimum nighttime temperature is 25 degrees or higher, reached 20.2 days, the highest on record.

After a summer that was "record-breaking" in every aspect, it was expected that a cool autumn would follow. However, even this month, the national average number of heatwave days reached a total of 5.5 days by the 18th, setting a new record for the highest number, indicating that the heat has not yet subsided.

The problem lies in the frequency of such abnormal climate events. According to the "2023 Abnormal Climate Report," jointly conducted by the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Office for Government Policy Coordination, last September's national average temperature was 22.6 degrees Celsius, 2.1 degrees higher than the average, marking the highest since 1973. Notably, Seoul experienced a "September tropical night" for the first time in 88 years, with the previous occurrence recorded in 1935. The continuation of heatwaves and tropical nights in September this year, following last year, suggests that abnormal climate events may not be a one- or two-year "exceptional" occurrence.

Professor Kim predicts that the heat reaching 30 degrees Celsius this year could continue until early November.

He said, "Looking at roughly the past 10 years, typical autumns have almost disappeared," adding, "Especially this year, I think we will hardly see a typical autumn."

He continued, "Last year, daytime temperatures rose to 29 degrees Celsius until mid-November," and "then suddenly dropped by more than 20 degrees the next day; this year will be almost the same." He added, "People are very happy thinking autumn has arrived as the heat subsides a bit after the extremely hot summer, but starting tomorrow, high temperatures close to 30 degrees will continue again," and "I expect this to last at least until early November. There will be one or two cold spells in between, but this heat will persist until early November, after which it will suddenly become cold."