Climate risk in Gwangju
Gwangju, South Korea · 1.4M people in the urban area
What threatens Gwangju most
- Water stress
- Medium-High WRI Aqueduct
- Drought
- Medium-High WRI Aqueduct
- Cyclone wind
- Category 2 once in 100 years IRIS
Tsunamis and landslides are not rated for a single city here. Climate risk profile of South Korea
Gwangju had 17 days with 20 mm of rain or more in 2025.
Seoul: 21 days.
Gwangju's climate in the 2050s
2041-2060 compared with 1991-2020, moderate emissions
By the 2050s, Gwangju's climate will still be more like its own today than any other large city's. The nearest other is Huainan (China).
+1.6°C
Mean temperature over the year
+1.6°C
Highest in the warmest month
+1.4°C
Lowest in the coldest month
+5%
Precipitation over the year
Under high emissions, the nearest is Huainan (China), and only in part.
Its own climate today is 2.2 σ away. How close the match is: 4.1 σ to the climate of Huainan today, where under 2 is close and over 4 is no match (Mahony et al. 2017). 1 of 3 climate model runs name the same city. Seasonal temperature and rain are compared, not extremes, city heat or the sea.
Where else Gwangju stands out
+2.3°C
Warming by 2050, moderate emissions
Seoul: +2.8°C.
Higher than in 75% of the world's 630 large cities
Hazards at Gwangju
Read at the city's centre and compared with the Atlas's 630 large cities. Moderate emissions is the IPCC's scenario SSP2-4.5.
| Hazard | Gwangju | Among large cities | In South Korea |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot days in 2025, over 35 °C | 7 days | Among large cities: above 54% | In South Korea: 5 of 9 |
| Tropical nights in 2025, over 20 °C | 91 days | Among large cities: above 45% | In South Korea: 7 of 9 |
| Hottest day of 2025 | 36.7°C | Among large cities: above 54% | In South Korea: 3 of 9 |
| Warming by 2050, moderate emissions | +2.3°C | Among large cities: above 75% | In South Korea: 6 of 9 |
| Days with 20 mm of rain or more in 2025 | 17 days | Among large cities: above 77% | In South Korea: 5 of 9 |
| River flood depth, 100-year event | Dry at the city centre point | ||
| Coastal flood depth, 100-year event | Dry at the city centre point | ||
| Water stress | Medium-High (20-40%) | Among large cities: above 43% | In South Korea: 2 of 8 |
| Drought risk | Medium-High | Among large cities: above 13% | In South Korea: 1 of 8 |
| Earthquake shaking, once in 475 years | 0.26 m/s² | Among large cities: above 28% | In South Korea: 9 of 9 |
| Land burned in an average year | 0% | ||
| Cyclone wind, once in 100 years | 45.26 m/s |
Flood depth is read in a single 1 km cell at the city's centre, in today's climate. Other parts of the city can still flood. The country page names the deepest point near a coastal city in 2080, so its figure can be higher. See how deep a river flood reaches around Gwangju on the live map
See the warming around Gwangju on the live map
+2.3°C © OpenStreetMap Cite or embed
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In a line
Source: Criora (criora.com), based on ECMWF, NEX-GDDP-CMIP6, WRI, IPCC, GSHAP, GFED500, IRIS: the Imperial College Storm Model dataset
APA
Criora. (2026). Gwangju, South Korea: climate risk profile [Data set]. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://criora.com/atlas/KOR/gwangju BibTeX
@misc{criora_atlas_KOR_gwangju_2026,
author = {{Criora}},
title = {Gwangju, South Korea: climate risk profile},
year = {2026},
url = {https://criora.com/atlas/KOR/gwangju},
urldate = {2026-11-02}
} Each reading stays under its source's terms; the sources are named on this page.
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