Record El Niño may bring a warmer winter to South Korea — Korea Herald

South Korea is forecast to see the strongest El Niño since Korean observations began in 1950 affect weather on the Korean Peninsula throughout the winter. It may bring higher temperatures and more precipitation, Korea Herald reports, citing the Korea Meteorological Administration.

Warmer and wetter through December

El Niño, which began in May, is expected to intensify the inflow of warm and humid air into Korea. The meteorological administration expects this may contribute to higher temperatures and increased precipitation through December.

At the same time, weather conditions may change sharply in January due to temporary inflows of cold air into the country. Administration head Lee Mi-seon urged people to prepare for sudden weather changes, including cold spells.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Ocean temperature at a record level

El Niño is a climate phenomenon in which surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean become unusually warm and trade winds weaken. This disrupts weather patterns in different parts of the world.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, in October the sea surface temperature anomaly in the monitoring zone reached 2.6 degrees Celsius. The three-month average through October exceeded 2.4 degrees. Both figures were records since Korean observations began in 1950.

The administration defines the onset of El Niño as occurring when the three-month average sea surface temperature is at least 0.5 degrees above the 1991–2020 average for five consecutive months. The agency also noted that temperatures and precipitation may be affected by conditions in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, Arctic sea ice extent and Eurasian snow cover.