A late summer heat wave that began last week will likely continue until mid-September, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. The hot sunny weather Korea missed out on this summer is making a belated comeback.

The spell of sweltering heat gripped the nation on Monday, with the daytime high in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province reaching 34.2 degrees Celsius. A heat advisory for regions where daytime highs are expected to climb above 33 degrees for more than two days was issued for some parts of North and South Jeolla provinces.

"The country was hit by a late heat wave as hot and humid vapors flowed from the east along the periphery of a North Pacific anticyclone," the KMA said. "Temperatures will hover around 30 degrees in western parts of the country such as the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces."