Seoul's climate warming three times faster than world average

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- Temperatures in Seoul are rising at a pace three times faster than the world average, a meteorological agency said Monday, noting the yearly average temperature in South Korea's capital has risen by 2.4 degrees Celsius over the past century.

The rise in the city's average temperature between 1908 and 2007 was about 3.24
times as large as the world's average of 0.74 degrees, according to the report
compiled by the National Meteorological Administration.
In a similar period from 1912 to 2008, the average temperature on the Korean
Peninsula edged up 1.7 degrees, the report noted.
The report also showed that average temperatures in Seoul during summer months
have become hotter while the season itself is lengthening, with winter growing
warmer and shorter.
Average highs for the city have also gone up from 16 to 17.4 degrees, while
average lows have risen from 5.9 to 9.2 degrees.
Only 86 days in a year on average recorded below-zero temperatures during the
past decade, whereas the mercury dipped below freezing for an average of 129 days
between 1908-1917.
South Korea is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the world,
discharging 500 million tons in 2005, according to U.N. reports.
The government announced that it would present a road map for voluntary reduction
of greenhouse gas output at a U.N. meeting on climate change in December last
year. The country is not obliged to cut gas emissions as it is not categorized as
an advanced country by the Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change, which took effect in
2005.
Global climate change has also affected annual precipitation in the city, with
heavier rainfall being reported during a fewer number of days, according to the
survey.
Mean annual rainfall was 1,156mm during the past 10 years, up 27 percent from
1,680mm from 1908-1917, while the average number of rainy days dropped to 109
from 115 days.
brk@yna.co.kr
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