A tropical night is when the lowest temperature does not drop below 25 degrees Celsius after dark.
Many Seoul residents had a sleepless night on Friday as the capital region extended its streak of tropical nights to 33.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), Seoul had already experienced three occurrences of such hot and humid nights before the current streak began on July 21, bringing the total for this year to 36 and breaking the previous record set in 1994 since weather observations began in 1907.
"Cheoseo," which is often considered the end of summer according to the lunar calendar, just passed earlier this week, but there seem to be no signs of the summer heat abating.
The KMA now forecasts that sweltering weather along with tropical nights will persist across the country until early next month, due to the expansion of the Tibetan high-pressure system which brings hot and dry air to the Korean Peninsula.
The prolonged scorching heat has also taken its toll, with the number of heat-related patients exceeding 3,000 so far this year, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
