Lee et al. (2026) Understanding the physical mechanism of record-breaking 2025 Korea-Japan heatwave

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Environmental Research Letters
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-22
• Authors: Bora Lee, Eunkyo Seo, Dongmin Kim, Nakbin Choi, Woosok Moon
• DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aeaaf5

Research Groups

• Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
• Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)

Short Summary

This study investigates the 2025 record-breaking heatwave in the Korea–Japan region, attributing its occurrence to a narrow midlatitude-confined thermal forcing. The findings highlight the importance of understanding regional air–sea coupling and thermal forcing structure for anticipating future heatwave risk.

Objective

• Investigate the factors contributing to the 2025 record-breaking heatwave in the Korea–Japan region

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional (Korea–Japan)
• Temporal Scale: Summer of 2023, 2024, and 2025

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not specified
• Data sources: Observations, reanalysis data

Main Results

• The meridional structure of thermal forcing was decisive in triggering the heatwave.
• Narrow midlatitude-confined warming in 2025 led to a weakened upper-tropospheric temperature gradient and jet displacement.
• Enhanced surface shortwave radiation warmed the underlying ocean, with air–sea coupling amplifying and sustaining the event.

Contributions

• This study provides new insights into the role of regional air–sea coupling and thermal forcing structure in heatwave occurrence.
• The findings emphasize the need to consider these factors beyond global-mean warming projections for anticipating future heatwave risk.

Funding

• Not specified

Citation

@article{Lee2026Understanding,
  author = {Lee, Bora and Seo, Eunkyo and Kim, Dongmin and Choi, Nakbin and Moon, Woosok},
  title = {Understanding the physical mechanism of record-breaking 2025 Korea-Japan heatwave},
  journal = {Environmental Research Letters},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1088/1748-9326/aeaaf5},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aeaaf5}
}