We projected the temperature changes in the mid-21st century with Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP8.5 using the temperature data simulated by four regional climate models (RCMs: WRF, CCLM, MM5, RegCM4) in Korea. The simulation area and spatial resolution of RCMs were the CORDEXEA (COordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment-East Asia) area and 25 km, respectively. We defined the temperature change as the difference (ratio) between the average annual temperature (IAV: Interannual Variation) over the projected 25 years (2026-2050) and that over the present 25 years (1981-2005). The fact that the average annual temperature bias of the four RCMs is within ±2.5°C suggests that the RCM simulation level is reasonable in Korea. Across all RCMs, scenarios, and geographic locations, we observed increased temperatures (IAV) in the mid-21st century. In RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, 1.27°C and 1.57°C will be increased by 2050, respectively. The ensemble suggests that the temperature increase is higher in winter (RCP4.5: 1.36°C, RCP8.5: 1.75°C) than summer (RCP4.5: 1.25°C, RCP8.5: 1.49°C). Central Korea exhibited a higher temperature increase than southern Korea. A slightly larger IAV is expected in the southeastern region than in the Midwest of Korea. IAV is also expected to increase significantly in RCP4.5 (summer) than in RCP8.5 (winter).

We estimated changes in temperature-related extreme events over South Korea for the mid and late 21st Century using the 122 years (1979-2100) data simulated by RegCM4 with HadGEM2-AO data as boundary conditions. We analyzed the four extreme events (Hot day: HD, Tropical day: TD, Frost day: FD, Icing Day: ID) and five extreme values (Maximum temperature 95/5 percentile: TX95P/TX5P, Minimum temperature 95/5 percentile: TN95P/TN5P, Daily temperature range 95 percentile: DTR95P) based on the absolute and relative thresholds, respectively. Under the global warming conditions, hot extreme indices (HD, TD, TX95P, TN95P) increase, suggesting more frequent and severe extreme events, while cold extreme indices (FD, ID, TX5P, TN5P) decrease their frequency and intensities. In the late 21st Century, changes in extremes are greater in severe global warming scenario, RCP8.5 rather than RCP4.5. HD and TD (FD and ID) are expected to increase (decrease) in the mid 21st Century. The average HD is expected to increase by 14 (17) days in RCP4.5 (8.5). All the percentile indices except for DTR95P are expected to increase in both RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. In the late 21st Century, HD and TD are significantly increased in RCP8.5 compared to RCP4.5, but FD and ID are expected to be significantly reduced. HD is expected to increase mainly in the southwestern region, twice (+41 days) in RCP8.5. TD is expected to increase by 17 days in RCP8.5, which is 5 times greater than that in RCP4.5. TX95P, TN95P and TX5P are expected to increase by about 2°C and 4°C in RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively. TN5P is expected to increase significantly by 4°C and 7°C in RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, respectively.