Daegu sizzles past 40 C as Seoul sees 12th straight tropical night
The relentless heat, which shattered South Korea’s all-time temperature record on Sunday, showed no signs of easing Monday as it spread to western and central parts of the country.
As of 4 p.m. Monday, severe heat wave warnings — the highest alert level, calling for an immediate halt to outdoor work — were issued for parts of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, joining areas in the southern regions that were already under the alert.
The warnings will take effect from 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. It marks the first time that a severe heat wave warning has been issued for the Seoul metropolitan area. On Monday, Guro, a western district in Seoul, recorded 39 degrees Celsius, while temperatures in Gangnam, southern Seoul, exceeded 37 C.
Although lower than Sunday's all-time national high of 42.5 C, recorded in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, temperatures remained extreme in southern regions on Monday.
Daegu sizzled with the mercury hitting 40.9 C, while Gwangyang in South Jeolla Province soared past 41 C, and Yangsan, where the record was set a day earlier, reached 39 C.
As of Monday morning, Seoul recorded 12 consecutive tropical nights, while northern Jeju Island extended its streak to 27 nights, the longest currently recorded nationwide. Busan’s overnight temperature fell no lower than 28.5 C, while Yangsan remained at 28 C. Along the east coast in Gangwon Province, overnight lows stood at 26.7 C in Gangneung, 26.6 C in Donghae and 26.5 C in Sokcho.
Gangneung, Yangyang and Sokcho have now experienced tropical nights for seven consecutive days. The streak has continued for five days in Donghae, Samcheok and Goseong.
A tropical night is recorded when the temperature remains at or above 25 C between 6:01 p.m. and 9 a.m. the following day.
Dangerously hot
Nationwide, officials are in emergency mode for heat-related casualties.
At 1 p.m. Sunday, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters raised the heat response to Level 2, which is activated when more than 108 warning districts are expected to record maximum apparent temperatures above 35 C over the following three days. This is only the second time that the response level has been activated since extreme heat was legally classified as a natural disaster in 2018.
Government figures released Monday showed that 96 patients with heat-related illnesses were reported on Saturday alone, bringing the cumulative total since May 15 to 1,889, including 14 possible heat-related deaths.
The death toll is expected to rise, as additional suspected heat-related deaths were reported Sunday in Busan and other areas.
In Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province, two elderly farmers were found collapsed after going out to work in the fields in separate incidents Sunday afternoon. The deaths, along with other possible cases, have not yet been officially confirmed as heat-related.
In Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, the scorching heat has been compounded by a severe drought, with rainfall dropping to just half of last year's level. As of 10 a.m. Monday, the water storage rate at Unmun Dam stood at 26.5 percent, prompting officials to warn of possible water outages as drought conditions worsen.
Yangsan has rolled out emergency measures, including mobile distribution of iced bottled water, expanded road-spraying operations and public parasols to help residents cope with the extreme temperatures.
Seoul has so far avoided the worst of the heat wave, with 162 heat-related illness cases, including two possible heat-related deaths, reported as of Aug. 1.
But as sweltering conditions are expected to persist across the capital region this week, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon convened a meeting of city officials on Monday morning to review the city's response.
Officials in other regions are also stepping up measures, including inspections of cooling shelters and efforts to check on vulnerable groups, including older adults, outdoor workers and others at greater risk from the heat.
tammy@heraldcorp.com
