South Korea’s electricity demand hit a historic peak in August, driven by the intense summer heat wave.

According to the Korea Power Exchange, the nation’s peak power demand averaged 87.8 gigawatts, a 6.1 percent increase from the previous year. This surge in energy consumption was largely attributed to increased air conditioning usage amid the sweltering conditions.

The Korea Meteorological Administration reported that August experienced 16 days where temperatures exceeded 33 degrees Celsius, the second-highest number of heat wave days since records began to be tallied in 1973. Additionally, there were 11.3 tropical nights, marking the first time the country recorded a double-digit number of tropical nights in a month.