Korea has its warmest November in a century

Koreans on Thursday greeted the warmest November morning on record, the state weather agency said, amid unseasonably high temperatures in recent days.

People walk along a path at a park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Koreans on Thursday greeted the warmest November morning on record, the state weather agency said, amid unseasonably high temperatures in recent days.

In Seoul, the lowest temperature of the day, measured at 4:04 a.m. in a central location of the city, was 18.9 degrees Celsius (34.02 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest daily minimum temperature for November since recordkeeping began in 1907, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The previous record for the highest daily minimum temperature for November in Seoul was set just one day ago.

The record-high November temperatures were also observed in many other parts of the country.

In the east coastal city of Gangneung, Gangwon, the lowest daily temperature was 20 degrees Celsius on Thursday.

The KMA said the sustained influx of hot southwesterly winds has caused the unusually warm November temperatures across the country.

The highest temperatures during the day are forecast to range from 22 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius nationwide, a level usually witnessed in mid-September, the agency added.

In the afternoon, temperatures across the country surpassed the average annual temperatures, ranging from 14.6 degrees Celsius to 19.1 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures in Gangneung, Gangwon, rose to as high as 27.3 degrees Celsius at 2 p.m. Thursday, Suwon in Gyeonggi hit 26 degrees Celsius and the capital to 25.7 degrees Celsius.

The concentration of fine dust, specifically fine particulate matter 2.5, hit 40 micrograms per cubic meter, falling within the “bad” level (36 to 75 micrograms per cubic meter) at 2 p.m., according to the Ministry of Environment’s real-time air data Air Korea.

The air quality will be relatively clean over the weekend, while fine dust concentrations in Incheon, southern regions of Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong are expected to be high due to air stagnation.

Midday temperatures will remain higher than previous years in the coming days, with the mercury hitting as high as 25 degrees Celsius on Saturday. Temperatures will cool down after heavy downpour batters the country over the weekend, according to the KMA.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, YONHAP [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]