People cool off at Gwangalli Beach in Busan, Friday. Yonhap
Korea saw a record hot summer this year with the nationwide average temperature, excluding Jeju Island, coming to 29.1 C in the first 10 days of August, the highest on record, the state weather service said Tuesday.
The reading is on par with the 10-day average of August 2018, making it the hottest first 10-day period of August in 53 years since 1973, when the weather observation network was expanded nationwide, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
The average daily maximum temperature in the first 10 days of this month was 34.4 C, the second highest after 34.7 C recorded in 2018, the KMA said.
The average daily minimum temperature, which is an indicator of night heat, was 24.8 C for the same period, the third highest on record following 25 C in 2022 and 24.9 C in 2018.
