A man passes by a fountain in front of a sculpture of a burning Earth in Daegu, July 5, 2023, when a heat advisory was issued in the region. Yonhap

Korea's state weather agency said, Tuesday, that 2023 was the country's hottest year on record, in line with the World Meteorological Organization's earlier confirmation that the entire planet experienced the hottest year in 2023.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the annual average temperature of Korea reached 13.7 degrees Celsius last year, marking the highest figure since 1973 when the country introduced modern meteorological observation systems.

The figure rose by 0.3 degrees from the previous record of 13.4 degrees in 2016.

The annual averages for daily maximum and minimum temperatures were the highest as well at 19.2 degrees and 8.9 degrees, respectively.

The number of days with heat waves – when the highs reached over 33 degrees – and the number of days with tropical nights, which occur when the temperature does not fall below 25 degrees during the night, stood at 14.2 and 8.2, respectively, 3.2 and 1.6 more than the averages.

"Due to the influence of the North Pacific anticyclone, the anticyclonic situation developed in the eastern part of the country, causing warm southern winds and high temperatures," a KMA official said.

March and September of 2023 led to the rise of the annual average temperature, as the country was 3.3 degrees and 2.1 degrees warmer than the averages for those months, respectively.

The sea surface temperature of the country was no exception, with the annual average tallied at 17.5 degrees, 0.4 degrees higher than the average for the past 10 years.

The sea surface temperature in September – when the anticyclone extended over a vast area of the country – was the highest at 25.5 degrees, which was 1.7 degrees higher than the 10-year average.

Not only Korea but also the entire planet had the hottest year in 2023.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced last Friday that the annual average global temperature was 1.45 degrees above pre-industrial levels (1850-1900) in 2023.

The United Nations agency noted that global temperatures in every month between June and December set new monthly records and that July and August were the two hottest months on record.

"Climate change is the biggest challenge that humanity faces," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said.

"We are already taking action but we have to do more and we have to do it quickly. We have to make drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the transition to renewable energy sources."

She added that 2024 could be even hotter, considering that the shift from the cooling effects of La Nina to the warming influence of El Nino, by the middle of 2023, is clearly reflected in the rise in temperature from last year and that El Nino usually has the biggest impact on global temperatures after it peaks.