SEOUL — South Korea has endured its longest streak of tropical nights since records began in 1973, as the country faces an ongoing and severe heat wave, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced on Sunday.

According to Philippines News Agency, the duration of tropical nights—where nighttime temperatures do not drop below 25 degrees Celsius from 6:01 p.m. to 9:00 a.m.—extended to 20.2 days this year, surpassing the previous records of 16.8 days in 1994 and 16.7 days in 2018. This unprecedented stretch highlights a significant increase in minimum night-time temperatures. Furthermore, August recorded 11.3 tropical nights, marking the first time this figure has reached double digits within the month.

The heat wave has also seen days with daytime temperatures exceeding 33 degrees Celsius reach 23.2 days this year, ranking as the third highest occurrence after 2018’s 31 days and 1994’s 29.6 days. While the KMA notes that the peak of this year's heat wave has passed, it warns that high temperatures are expected to continue into early September, particularly in the first ten days.