{"id":2205362,"date":"2024-06-04T18:38:22","date_gmt":"2024-06-04T09:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2205362"},"modified":"2024-06-05T19:07:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T10:07:44","slug":"as-summer-rains-loom-south-korea-confronts-the-economic-costs-of-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2024\/06\/as-summer-rains-loom-south-korea-confronts-the-economic-costs-of-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"As summer rains loom, South Korea confronts the economic costs of climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea\u2019s summer monsoon season will officially begin in the coming weeks, kicking off a roughly monthlong period of near-daily rainfall when the country most acutely feels the worsening consequences of climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n Flooding last summer caused <\/span>dozens of deaths<\/span><\/a> and extensive <\/span>property and agricultural damages<\/span><\/a>, and the memory of such disasters has <\/span>authorities bracing<\/span><\/a> for heavy rains in the weeks ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n But the physical devastation of these seasonal monsoons is merely the tip of the proverbial melting iceberg when it comes to the impacts of climate change on the ROK.<\/span><\/p>\n Global warming poses sweeping risks to sectors across the South Korean economy, from adverse weather disrupting agricultural production and driving up food prices to high heat increasing the financial strain on state-run energy companies.<\/span><\/p>\n Moreover, the country\u2019s manufacturing sector, particularly its automotive and semiconductor industries, faces challenges adapting to a low-carbon future, while demographic shifts may compound the long-term economic consequences of climate change.<\/span><\/p>\n But while a <\/span>new survey<\/span><\/a> shows that nine out of 10 South Koreans believe that the country is now facing a climate crisis, recent lawsuits have called into question whether the government is doing enough to address the problem, and could compel Seoul to take more drastic measures before it\u2019s too late.<\/span><\/p>\n ECONOMIC TOLL<\/b><\/p>\n Heavy rainfall and heat waves have had significant economic consequences for South Korea.<\/span><\/p>\n The country recorded its <\/span>hottest April in over a half-century<\/span><\/a> this year, with the average temperature 2.8 degrees Celsius higher than between 1991 and 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n At least <\/span>23 people<\/span><\/a> died due to summer heat waves last year, about three times the number of heat-related deaths from 2022. As summer months get hotter, that number will likely further increase.<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, heavy rainfall during the summer monsoon season has had an increasingly severe impact. <\/span>Last year\u2019s flooding<\/span><\/a> displaced over 10,000 residents, and about 40 people lost their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n