South Korea heat hits record 42.5C, agency says

South Korea recorded its highest temperature since records began in 1904 on Sunday, when the southeastern city of Yangsan reached 42.5C, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

The state weather agency said the temperature was recorded at 1:26 p.m. local time, or 0426 GMT. Yangsan has been the centre of the current heatwave, with temperatures above 40C for a fifth consecutive day on Sunday.

Much of South Korea has been placed under heat warnings, and many cities have seen temperatures climb into the high 30s Celsius. More than 20 localities were under emergency heatwave alerts on Sunday.

The emergency alert category was introduced this year. It is issued when areas in a heatwave are forecast to reach perceived temperatures of 38C or an actual temperature of 39C for one day.

KMA data show South Korea's average annual number of heatwave days has more than doubled to 19 over the past five years from eight in the 1970s. A heatwave day is defined as one with a maximum temperature of at least 33C. A tropical night is one when the overnight low remains 25C or above.

Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heatwaves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-induced climate change.