Meteorologist Predicting 40-Degree Heatwave This Summer Says "Minus 18-Degree Cold Wave in Winter"

"Autumn Will Gradually Shorten"
"Hot Chuseok, Continuing Ahead"

A meteorologist who predicted this year's record-breaking heatwave analyzed that a cold wave below minus 18 degrees Celsius will come this winter.

At the Gwanghwamun intersection, office workers dressed in thick clothing are hurrying on their way to work. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

Professor Kim Hae-dong of the Department of Environmental Engineering at Keimyung University appeared on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 23rd and said about this winter's weather, "I think it will be quite cold. It seems that this winter will follow a similar pattern to the winters of 2021 and 2022, when temperatures dropped below minus 18 degrees Celsius."

Professor Kim, who previously predicted the record-breaking heatwave exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, also forecasted that the aftermath of the severe heat will continue. He said, "People are very happy thinking that autumn has arrived as the heat subsides a bit, but starting tomorrow, high temperatures close to 30 degrees will continue again. Last year, daytime temperatures rose to 29 degrees until mid-November. The next day, temperatures suddenly dropped by more than 20 degrees. I think it will be the same this year." This leaves open the possibility that the heat will continue until November.

He also predicted that the shortening of autumn is not limited to this year. He said, "Looking at data from the past 10 years, a proper autumn has almost disappeared," and "especially this year, we will hardly see a proper autumn." He added, "This year, there was a movement within the Korea Meteorological Administration to define summer as lasting from May to September," and "if that happens, Chuseok often falls within what the Meteorological Administration calls summer."

Regarding the cold this winter, he explained, "After this autumn ends and winter begins, there is a very high possibility of transitioning to a La Ni?a phenomenon," and "even if it is not officially announced as La Ni?a, similar phenomena appear. Then, there is a considerable chance that Arctic cold waves will strongly descend on our country." He forecasted, "Looking at 2021 and 2022, there was an extreme cold wave called the 'Da-an cold wave,' with temperatures dropping below minus 18 degrees Celsius. There was also a cold wave in Texas, USA, causing water outages and power failures. That was in 2021-2022, and this winter is expected to be similar."