“The sight of squid fishing boats lighting up the waters around Ulleungdo is now a thing of the past. Nowadays, you can even catch Yellowtails (amberjack), which used to be fished around Jeju Island.”
At the end of May, a raw fish restaurant on Ulleungdo displayed a photo at its entrance of the owner holding a yellowtail over 1 meter long. He said, “I caught this near Ulleungdo last winter.” A bullet squid, about the size of a palm, in the tank was priced at 20,000 won each. Twenty years ago, it was sold for 1,000 won. As the sea temperature rose, the number of Ulleungdo squid dwindled, making them expensive. Instead, temperate migratory fish like yellowtail are becoming more common.
Ulleungdo is becoming more like Jeju Island. Due to the effects of global warming, Ulleungdo, which used to have distinct summer and winter characteristics, is now experiencing weather more akin to the hot southern regions.
On Jun. 6, The Chosun Daily requested the Korea Meteorological Administration to analyze the weather around Ulleungdo over the past 10 years (2014-2023) compared to the previous 10 years (1973-1982). The results showed that most indicators, such as average annual temperature, humidity, and snowfall, are becoming similar to those of Jeju Island, the southernmost island in S. Korea.
The Korea Meteorological Administration explained that the rising sea and air temperatures are clearly blurring the unique weather characteristics and boundaries of islands in the East Sea and South Sea.
Ulleungdo is known for having the most extreme seasonal characteristics in S. Korea. Because of this, the disruption of seasonal patterns and the impact of climate change due to global warming are also evident.
While S. Korea used to only observe weather conditions like temperature and humidity on Ulleungdo, it opened a climate change monitoring station in 2014 to measure greenhouse gas concentrations, such as carbon dioxide and methane, around the East Sea. Last year, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) designated this site as a Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station, making it a key location for monitoring global climate change.
The biggest change in Ulleungdo from the past to the present is the decrease in snowfall. From 1973, when a nationwide weather observation network was established, Ulleungdo’s average annual snowfall was 310.2 cm over 10 years. However, in the past 10 years, it dropped to 248.4 cm, a decrease of 61.8 cm.
In the past, snow would often accumulate over 100cm at a time on Ulleungdo, but such heavy snowfall has not been seen since 2018. During this period, the average annual temperature rose from 12.1°C to 13.4°C, an increase of 1.3°C, and the average annual precipitation increased from 1266.6 mm to 1484.5 mm, which indicates that the snow turned into rain.
The decrease in winter snowfall means that winters and springs in Ulleungdo are becoming drier. When a lot of snow accumulates in winter, it melts slowly into spring, steadily providing moisture to the soil. However, if snow turns into rain, it only moistens the ground briefly before running off.
As winters and springs become drier, Ulleungdo’s average annual humidity over the past 10 years was 70.3%, down 3.5 percentage points from the previous 10 years (73.8%). Overall, the humidity level has decreased, but in summer, the perceived humidity has increased compared to the past due to higher temperatures and increased rainfall.
Climate change on Ulleungdo has also affected the types of crops that can be harvested. One resident mentioned, “The soil is dry, making it difficult to grow vegetables like myungyi (wild leeks) and samnamul (Korean goatsbeard). In the past, we could get by with just fans in the summer, but now it’s hard to manage without air conditioning.”
