Sizzling hot weather on Korean Peninsula makes people and livestock collapse

Elderly people eat lunch at a soup kitchen near Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul on July 5. Reporter Cho Tae-hyung

A record-breaking heat wave is causing damage across Korea. Gangneung, Gangwon Province, has been experiencing tropical nights for 17 days, the longest ever. In South Jeolla Province, around 20 people a day are being hospitalized for heat-related illnesses. About 250,000 livestock have also died in the heat.

According to data from the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters of South Jeolla Province on August 5, there were some 200 cases with heat-related diseases in South Jeolla Province alone until the 4th. This is twice as many as the 100 cases in the same period last year. In the region, heat wave warnings have been issued for 33 days since the first one was issued on June 11.

In particular, since last week, when the heat wave began in earnest after the rainy season, dozens of cases with heat-related illnesses have been reported every day. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) a total of 685 patients with heat-related illnesses were reported from 507 emergency rooms in medical institutions nationwide for seven days from July 29 to August 4. From May 20 to August 4, when the emergency room monitoring system for heat-related illnesses was in operation, the cumulative number of the cases was 1,690, already exceeding that of the cases (1,646) during the same period last year.

There have also been cases of deaths during outdoor work. On August 4, at around 6:55 p.m., a man in his 70s collapsed and died while working in a sesame field in Uiheung-myeon, Gunwi-gun, Daegu. The police believe that the man lost his life to a heat-related illness and are investigating the exact circumstances of his death.

On the 2nd, a subcontractor worker in his 50s who was taking a break at Young Poong’s metal smelting factory in Bonghwa-gun, North Gyeongsang Province, collapsed unconscious and was taken to a hospital, but died.

As more households use air conditioners, there have been a number of fires caused by outdoor units of air-conditioners at residential areas across the country. Earlier in the day, a resident who inhaled smoke from a fire caused by an outdoor unit of an air-conditioner at an apartment in Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, was taken to a hospital. On the 3rd, a fire caused at an apartment’s room for the outdoor unit was caught in 20 minutes in Suyeong-gu, Busan, and on the afternoon of the same day, the outdoor unit of an apartment in Doan-dong, Seo-gu, Daejeon, was gutted by fire.

Mass deaths of livestock are also continuing due to the heat. Livestock deaths due to the heat wave are also continuing. According to the Agricultural Policy Insurance and Financial Services, which compensates for livestock disasters, 257,000 chickens, pigs, and ducks died nationwide until the 4th due to the severe heat. The amount of damage is estimated to be worth 5.5 billion won.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, this year’s average number of tropical nights in the country is 12 days until August 4. This is more than three times longer than the same period in normal years (3.7 days) and 9.5 days longer than the same period in 2018, which was recorded as the hottest summer ever. Until the night of the 4th, Seoul and Gwangju had tropical nights for 15 consecutive days since July 21, and Gangneung for 17 consecutive days since July 19. Gangneung has the longest period of tropical nights in 113 years since 1911, when weather observation began. Sokcho and Samcheok in Gangwon Province, Daegu, and Cheongju in North Chungcheong Province have also experienced tropical nights for 16 days since July 20.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.