Why this year’s autumn foliage in South Korea is less vibrant
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According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, nearly half the mountains saw peak autumn colours later than usual in 2024.
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SEOUL - Though autumn has officially arrived in South Korea, the foliage season was observed later than usual due to unprecedented high temperatures, resulting in less vibrant autumn colours across the country.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration’s (KMA) monitoring report of 21 prominent mountains nationwide, nearly half of the mountains saw peak colours later than usual in 2024.
The KMA declares the “beginning” of foliage when 20 per cent of the leaves on a mountain turn to autumn colours, while the “peak” is declared when 80 per cent of the leaves change colour.
For example, Naejangsan, a mountain which stretches across the border of the Jeolla Provinces, saw the beginning of the foliage on Oct 31, 11 days later than the previous year’s records.
Naejangsan recorded peak colours on Nov 11, 14 days later than 2023.
Woraksan – a mountain in the central region – also saw the start of the foliage on Oct 21 and reached its peak on Nov 5. According to the KMA’s records, the foliage here began nine days later than average, peaking 12 days later.
As at Nov 12, 20 out of 21 prominent mountains have recorded peak autumn colours.
Hallasan, a shield volcano on Jeju Island, has yet to see its peak colours since the beginning of the autumn foliage on Oct 29 – 19 days later compared to previous records.
Normally, in the central parts of the country, leaves show peak colours between mid-October and early November, while in southern parts of the country, peak colours are observed from late October to mid-November.
According to this trend, colours are now being observed at the end of the average foliage window.
According to Professor Yun Sun-jin from Seoul National University’s Department of Environmental Planning, the reason behind the late autumn foliage in 2024 is due to “unprecedented high temperatures that were observed throughout the year”.
“Autumn leaves usually show a hue in colours due to the breakdown of chlorophyll in the leaves,” explained Prof Yun.
“As the weather gets colder and sunlight hours decrease, photosynthesis becomes less active and chlorophyll production decreases. As temperatures begin to drop, trees stop nutrients and water from entering the leaves to prepare for winter and the leaves start to change colour as chlorophyll begins to break down.
“The colder the temperature, the more vibrant the colours get.”
But in 2024, every month till October was recorded to be hotter than previous years, according to the KMA. Summer temperatures continued into mid-September, as the last heat wave warning was observed on Sept 19.
With record-breaking high temperatures expected to persist due to global warming, Prof Yun told The Korea Herald that the late autumn foliage could become “the new normal”.
“Climate change and warm temperatures that come with it are pushing back what is considered a ‘normal time’ for foliage to be observed,” explained Prof Yun.
“Extreme climate conditions can bring stress to the trees and disrupt the production of chemicals that allow leaves to produce fall foliage colours, therefore reducing the intensity of foliage in the long run.” THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
