They Really Didn't Need AC: Cooling Cities Revealed Through Power Usage

While the rest of the country suffers from relentless sweltering heat day and night and power consumption hits record highs, high-altitude highland cities in Gangwon Province, reaching up to 900 meters above sea level, show a contrasting trend where power usage does not increase significantly.

According to an analysis of residential power consumption data by city, county, and district from 2021 to 2025 released by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) on the 8th, power usage in Taebaek, Jeongseon, and Pyeongchang among the 18 cities and counties in the province remained lower during the peak summer cooling demand period (June to August) than during the winter heating demand period (December to February).

In particular, Taebaek's summer power usage hovered at only the 80% level of its winter usage for five consecutive years.

Jeongseon and Pyeongchang also stayed at 80% to 90%.

While the remaining cities and counties saw their summer usage soar up to 120% of winter levels, peaking annually, these highland cities recorded higher power usage in winter, running counter to the nationwide trend of increasing cooling demand.

An employee working at KEPCO's Taebaek branch said, "Among Taebaek residents, you can often hear people say they live without turning on air conditioners in the summer, and that there are no mosquitoes and it is cool at night," adding, "Inbound inquiries and complaints about electricity bills are actually more frequent in winter than in summer."

The employee added, "Although households installing air conditioners are increasing as heatwaves have become more frequent lately, cooling demand is still not as large compared to other regions," and "It is a characteristic of Taebaek that it definitely cools down in the evening even just a little outside the downtown area."

The high proportion of elderly residents is also cited as a factor behind the low power usage.

Analysts suggest that living without running air conditioners has become a habit, likely having an impact on why power usage does not increase significantly.

Another employee, who has experience working at the Taebaek branch for about 10 years since the early 2000s, recalled, "While there are air conditioners in offices and official residences now, they weren't there when I was working."

In fact, KEPCO's Taebaek branch installed an air conditioner in its auditorium only this year.

A Taebaek branch employee explained, "Even if there were budget issues, if the necessity had been great, it would have been installed immediately, but it seems there wasn't a major need felt until now."

They added, "Even now, if you go to the Taebaek Cool Cinema Festival, an outdoor film festival, blankets and thin padded jackets are essentials," and "Although people say it is hot this year, it still seems bearable."

This difference is also confirmed in meteorological data.

From 2021 to this year, Taebaek's average number of heatwave days (days with a daily maximum temperature of 33 degrees Celsius [91 degrees Fahrenheit] or higher) has been merely 0.3 days in June, 1.8 days in July, and 2.2 days in August.

Tropical nights stand at zero.

During the same period, Jeongseon's average heatwave days were 4.3 days in June, 13 days in July, and 11.5 days in August, which are higher than Taebaek, but the average number of tropical nights was only 0.5 days each in July and August.

In Daegwallyeong, Pyeongchang, recorded heatwave days from 2021 to this year amounted to only 2 days in July of last year, with zero tropical nights.

Taebaek, Jeongseon, and Pyeongchang exhibit relatively cool weather even in summer due to their high altitude and terrain.

The entirety of Taebaek sits at a high altitude of about 650 to 900 meters above sea level, while Pyeongchang Daegwallyeong is about 830 meters above sea level, and Gohan and Sabuk in Jeongseon reach 700 to 900 meters above sea level.

Generally, temperature drops by 0.65 degrees Celsius (1.17 degrees Fahrenheit) for every 100-meter increase in altitude.

The fact that the ground surface heated during the day cools down rapidly overnight is also cited as one of the reasons for the cool climate.

Clouds and water vapor in the atmosphere are known to reduce radiative cooling, but high-altitude mountainous areas have clear and dry air, causing active radiative cooling where surface heat easily escapes.

In addition, while cities experience an urban heat island effect where asphalt and concrete release heat absorbed during the day even at night, compounded by artificial heat generated from cars and air conditioners, keeping temperatures higher than surrounding areas, these regions experience little heat island effect, which is another factor contributing to their cool weather.

Kim Chang-hwan, a professor of geography education at Kangwon National University, explained, "Taebaek, Jeongseon, and Pyeongchang are high-altitude plateau regions developed along the Baekdudaegan mountain range, characterized by lower temperatures than lowlands due to their high elevation," adding, "While the foehn effect occurs when easterly winds cross the Taebaek Mountains and blow into the Yeongseo region, raising temperatures, these three areas are high enough not to be affected by this, maintaining a cool climate even in summer."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.