Korea's Winters Shorten by up to 14 Days Since 1980s

Korea's winter has gradually shortened by up to 14 days over the last 30 years due to global warming while summers grew by 10.3 days, according to an analysis by the Korea Meteorological Administration.

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In the study, winter days had a morning low of zero degrees Celsius or less and an average temperature of 5 degrees or less. Summer days had an average temperature of 20 degrees or more with a high at or exceeding 25 degrees.

According to the KMA, Jeju saw its winters shorten from 37.7 days in the 1980s to 27.1 days in the 2000s. Gwangju had the most drastic cut from 90.9 days to 76.9 days, while Seoul's winter shortened from 107.4 days to 99.3 days.

Meanwhile, Daegu, one of the hottest places in the country, saw summer days increase from 116.1 to 124.4. In Cheongju, summer stretched by 10.3 days from 109.6 to 119.9, and Seoul now has 7.8 days more of summer time.

There were no significant changes in the duration of spring or autumn.