P29     Characteristics of 2016 and 2018 heat wave events over South Korea and their predictability in the operational prediction system of KMA.

Yoon, Donghyuck, Dong-Hyun Cha, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea, and Ki-Hong Min, Kyungpook National University, South Korea

Because of global warming and abnormal climate change, record-breaking heat wave events have been increasing over South Korea. In particular, the heat wave events for recent two years (i.e., 2016 and 2018) have been recorded as the longest and most damaging events ever. The average numbers of heat wave days (maximum surface air temperature) during JJA were 22.4 days (29.4°C) in 2016 and 31.5 days (30.3°C) in 2018. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the numbers of patients affected by the summer heat wave were 2,125 in 2016 and 4,519 in 2018. Therefore, accurate prediction of a heat wave is necessary to reduce the related damages.