Photo : YONHAP News
South Korea recorded its second‑warmest year on record in 2025, along with a rise in extreme rainfall events exceeding 100 millimeters per hour.
In its annual climate report released Tuesday, the Korea Meteorological Administration said the national average temperature last year stood at 13-point-seven degrees Celsius.
The figure is the second‑highest on record, following the all‑time high of 14-point-five degrees in 2024.
From June through October, monthly average temperatures ranked first or second on record for five consecutive months, highlighting unusually persistent heat through the summer and fall.
Last summer also brought the first heat wave ever recorded in Daegwallyeong in Gangwon Province since measurements began in 1971, while Seoul logged a record 46 tropical nights.
Although the monsoon season was unusually short, torrential downpours struck between mid‑July and September, with 15 locations nationwide reporting hourly rainfall exceeding 100 millimeters.