• Atmosphere
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.207-221
• /
• 2022

In Jeju, on January 23, 2016, a cold surge accompanied by heavy snowfall with the most significant amount of 12 cm was the highest record in 32 years. During this period, the temperature of 850 hPa in January was the lowest in 2016. Notably, in 2016, the average surface temperature of January on the Polar cap was the highest since 1991, and 500 hPa geopotential height also showed the highest value. With this condition, the polar vortex in the northern hemisphere meandered and expanded into the subtropics regionally, covering the Korean Peninsula with very high potential vorticity up to 7 Potential Vorticity Unit. As a result, the strong cold advection, mostly driven by a northerly wind, around the Korean Peninsula occurred at over 2𝜎. Previous studies have not addressed this extreme synoptic condition linked to polar vortex expansion due to the unprecedented Arctic warming. We suggest that the occurrence of a strong Ural blocking event after the abrupt warming of the Barents/Karas seas is a major cause of unusually strong cold advection. With a specified mesoscale model simulation with SST (Sea Surface Temperature), we also show that the warmer SST condition near the Korean Peninsula contributed to the heavy snowfall event on Jeju Island.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
• /
• 2017.05a
• /
• pp.228-229
• /
• 2017

MOCK-UP TEST was conducted in the extreme region of the cement which was researched and developed by using the reducing slag Experimental results show that the basic properties (air volume, slump) are improved compared with the specimens using Mongolian cement. The compressive strength achieved the target strength (target strength: age 3day: 7MPa, age 7day 14MPa) and the hydration heat was about 8 ℃ higher than that of Mongolian cement products. Therefore, it is considered that the cement powders developed by our company showed the strength of concrete due to high hydration heat even at extreme temperatures.

• Journal of Wetlands Research
• /
• v.25 no.4
• /
• pp.353-365
• /
• 2023

The effects of climate change on green infrastructure and environmental media remain uncertain and context-specific despite numerous climate projections globally. In this study, the extreme weather conditions in seven major cities in South Korea were characterized through statistical analysis of 20-year daily meteorological data extracted fro m the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). Additionally, the impacts of extreme weather on Nature-based Solutions (NbS) were determined through a comprehensive review. The results of the statistical analysis and comprehensive review revealed the studied cities are potentially vulnerable to varying extreme weather conditions, depending on geographic location, surface imperviousness, and local weather patterns. Temperature extremes were seen as potential threats to the resilience of NbS in Seoul, as both the highest maximum and lowest minimum temperatures were observed in the mentioned city. Moreover, extreme values for precipitation and maximum wind speed were observed in cities from the southern part of South Korea, particularly Busan, Ulsan, and Jeju. It was also found that extremely low temperatures induce the most impact on the resilience of NbS and environmental media. Extremely cold conditions were identified to reduce the pollutant removal efficiency of biochar, sand, gravel, and woodchip, as well as the nutrient uptake capabilities of constructed wetlands (CWs). In response to the negative impacts of extreme weather on the effectiveness of NbS, several adaptation strategies, such as the addition of shading and insulation systems, were also identified in this study. The results of this study are seen as beneficial to improving the resilience of NbS in South Korea and other locations with similar climate characteristics.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.25 no.2
• /
• pp.71-78
• /
• 2019

In 2018, severe diebacks have occurred on yuzu trees cultivated in Goheung, Jeonnam Province. On-farm surveys at 18 randomly selected orchards revealed the dieback incidence ranged from 7.5% to 100% with an average of 43.6%, and 56.6% of the affected yuzu trees were eventually killed. In order to find the reason for this sudden epidemic, we investigated the weather conditions that are exclusively distinct from previous years, hypothesizing that certain weather extremes might have caused the dieback epidemic on yuzu trees. Since different temperatures can cause freeze damage to plants depending on their dormancy stages, we investigated both periods when yuzu becomes hardy under deep dormancy (January-February) and when yuzu loses its cold hardiness (March-April). First, we found that daily minimum air temperatures below $-10^{\circ}C$ were recorded for 7 days in Goheung for January and February in 2018, while no occasions in 2017. In particular, there were two extreme temperature drops ($-12.6^{\circ}C$ and $-11.5^{\circ}C$) beyond the yuzu cold hardiness limit in 2018. In addition, another occasion of two sudden temperature drops to nearly $0^{\circ}C$ were occurred right after abnormally-warm-temperature-rises to $13^{\circ}C$ of daily minimum air temperatures in mid-March and early April. In conclusion, we estimated that the possible damages by several extreme freeze events during the winter of 2018 could be a major cause of severe diebacks and subsequently killed the severely affected yuzu trees.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.539-551
• /
• 2021

In this paper, the weather records in 'Nanjung Ilgi' were investigated and the weather characteristics of the southern coast of Korea (SC_Korea) was discussed. The Nanjung Ilgi is a personal diary written by admiral Yi Sun-sin from January 1592 to November 1598 during the 7-year war caused by the Japanese invasion. He is a respected great leader in the history of world naval warfare, winning all 23 battles against the Japanese. Of the 1593 days of diaries currently preserved, only 42 days have no weather records. Weather was recorded in detail, including sky conditions, precipitation, wind characteristics and others. Weather records were extracted from the diary, converted to the solar calendar, and compared with the meteorological data of Yeosu. The average annual precipitation day is about 90 days, which is similar to the current 95~100 days. As in the current climate, precipitation frequently occurs for about 30 days in summer, but less than 15 days in other seasons, and the rainy season starts from June 14 to 21 and ends from July 6 to 17. It seems that the abnormal cold and heat phenomena, which deviate significantly from the seasonal average climate, occurred on 6 and 21 days, respectively, over 7 years. This means that the weather records of Nanjung Ilgi can be used as valuable data on the climate of SC_Korea in the late 16th century. The fact that he recorded the weather even in such extreme battle conditions shows that he clearly recognized the importance of weather in warfare.

• Wind and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.37-55
• /
• 2010

In this paper South Africa is divided into strong wind climate zones, which indicate the main sources of annual maximum wind gusts. By the analysis of wind gust data of 94 weather stations, which had continuous climate time series of 10 years or longer, six sources, or strong-wind producing mechanisms, could be identified and zoned accordingly. The two primary causes of strong wind gusts are thunderstorm activity and extratropical low pressure systems, which are associated with the passage of cold fronts over the southern African subcontinent. Over the eastern and central interior of South Africa annual maximum wind gusts are usually caused by thunderstorm gust fronts during summer, while in the western and southern interior extratropical cyclones play the most dominant role. Along the coast and adjacent interior annual extreme gusts are usually caused by extratropical cyclones. Four secondary sources of strong winds are the ridging of the quasi-stationary Atlantic and Indian Ocean high pressure systems over the subcontinent, surface troughs to the west in the interior with strong ridging from the east, convergence from the interior towards isolated low pressure systems or deep coastal low pressure systems, and deep surface troughs on the West Coast.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.461-472
• /
• 2015

The sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), which is characterized by an abrupt increase of polar stratospheric temperature by several tens of degrees in a week, has been known to affect tropospheric weather and climate on sub-seasonal time scale in the boreal winter. Such downward coupling has been often examined in North Atlantic and Europe, but rarely examined in East Asia. In this study, by applying the two definitions of SSW to the reanalysis data, the possible impacts of the SSW events on the surface air temperature (SAT) and tropospheric circulation in East Asia are analyzed. It is found that Eurasian continent, including Siberia and the Northeast Asia, tends to experience anomalously cold SAT for up to sixty days after the SSW events. The resulting SAT anomalies largely resemble those associated with negative Artic Oscillation. However, over East Asia, SSW-related SAT change is weak and not statistically significant. Only during the extreme SSW events when the downward coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere is strong, East Asia exhibits significantly cold SAT anomalies. This relationship is presented by grouping SSW events into those followed by cold SAT anomalies over East Asia and those by warm anomalies for varying threshold values of the SSW events.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.25-34
• /
• 2014

In winter 2013, extreme air pollution by fine particulate matter ($PM_{2.5}$) in China attracted much public attention. In order to simulate the $PM_{2.5}$ pollution, the Community Multiscale Air Quality model driven by the Weather Research and Forecasting model was applied to East Asia in a period from 1 January 2013 to 5 February 2013. The model generally reproduced $PM_{2.5}$ concentration in China with emission data in the year 2006. Therefore, the extreme $PM_{2.5}$ pollution seems to be mainly attributed to meteorological (weak wind and stable) conditions rather than emission increases in the past several years. The model well simulated temporal and spatial variations in $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations in Japan as well as China, indicating that the model well captured characteristics of the $PM_{2.5}$ pollutions in both areas on the windward and leeward sides in East Asia in the study period. In addition, contribution rates of four anthropogenic emission sectors (power generation, industrial, residential and transportation) in China to $PM_{2.5}$ concentration were estimated by conducting zero-out emission sensitivity runs. Among the four sectors, the residential sector had the highest contribution to $PM_{2.5}$ concentration. Therefore, the extreme $PM_{2.5}$ pollution may be also attributed to large emissions from combustion for heating in cold regions in China.

• Atmosphere
• /
• v.33 no.2
• /
• pp.223-246
• /
• 2023

This paper summarized the research papers on weather extremes that occurred in the Republic of Korea, which were published in the domestic and foreign journals during 1963~2022. Weather extreme is defined as a weather phenomenon that causes serious casualty and property loss; here, it includes typhoon, heavy rain, drought, heat wave, cold surge, heavy snow, and strong gust. Based on the 2011~2020 statistics in Korea, above 80% of property loss due to all natural disasters were caused by typhoons and heavy rainfalls. However, the impact of the other weather extremes can be underestimated rather than we have actually experienced; the property loss caused by the other extremes is hard to be quantitatively counted. Particularly, as global warming becomes serious, the influence of drought and heat wave has been increasing. The damages caused by cold surges, heavy snow, and strong gust occurred over relatively local areas on short-term time scales compared to other weather hazards. In particularly, strong gust accompanied with drought may result in severe forest fires over mountainous regions. We hope that the present review paper may remind us of the importance of weather extremes that directly affect our lives.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.32-44
• /
• 2014

This study aimed to analyze the characteristic of the distribution of minimum temperature during January in the central region of South Korea and to investigate causes for the occurrence of extreme minimum temperature in Cheorwon. January temperature distribution data which were collected from 25 weather stations in central area from 1991 to 2010 were investigated, and the difference of temperature between Cheorwon and the other stations in central region, such as Chuncheon, Hongcheon, Bonghwa, Daegwallyoung, Wonju and Jecheon were analyzed by the type of atmospheric pressure system. Daily mean temperature and mean of daily minimum temperature appear to be low at Cheorwon and at the sites in high altitudes, but the frequency of extreme cold wave such as below $-15^{\circ}C$ is also noticeable in Cheorwon. When the Siberian High has expanded and migratory anticyclone has moved onto the north of the Korean Peninsula, the temperature at Cheorwon is relatively low. Furthermore it shows a lesser difference between Cheorwon and the compared stations when the migratory anticyclone affected the area, even at basin like Bonghwa, Jecheon more lower than Cheorwon.