South Korean farmers say record heat is damaging crops, including reports that potatoes in fields appear “boiled” in the ground. The Independent describes farmers as upset after discovering potatoes affected by extreme temperatures, linking the damage to prolonged exposure to intense sun and heat.
Other reported impacts from the same weather pattern include sunscald on apples, where fruit skin exposed to direct sunlight burns and discolours, as well as peaches splitting. Across outlets, the common thread is that unusually high temperatures and strong solar exposure are harming produce at the point of growth rather than during storage or transport.
While the outlets focus on different examples—potatoes for one account and a wider set of affected fruits for others—the reporting converges on the role of record or near-record heat in creating visible, field-level spoilage. The damage is portrayed as immediate and difficult to prevent, leaving farmers to deal with crop losses during the growing season.
