Climate change

I’ve been visiting Korea frequently over the past two decades, typically during the summer months of July and August. With each visit, I feel the heat intensify — not just metaphorically, but quite literally on my skin. I don’t need to consult reams of data to know that global warming is real. I feel it in the burning pavement under my feet and the suffocating air that makes even short walks exhausting. Breathing becomes more labored, and shade provides only minimal relief. Rainfall patterns, too, have changed. I now often witness abrupt, heavy downpours more reminiscent of Southeast Asia’s rain squalls than the steady, predictable monsoon rains I remember from my youth in Korea. Flooding has become more frequent and more extreme. Each summer seems to bring another set of images of submerged streets, collapsed retaining walls and overwhelmed drainage systems. The consequences of global climate change are no longer abstract or distant; they are manifesting in dangerous and disruptive ways. Korea is particularly vulnerable to stronger heatwaves, floods and typhoons. These naturalWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times