South Korea Heat Wave Hits 39C, Leaves 12 Dead as Yangsan Sets 41.4C Record
Updated
Updated · mbiz.heraldcorp.com · Aug 1
South Korea Heat Wave Hits 39C, Leaves 12 Dead as Yangsan Sets 41.4C Record
3 articles · Updated · mbiz.heraldcorp.com · Aug 1
Summary
39C heat is forecast across South Korea through Sunday, with Busan and Ulsan among the hottest areas and tropical nights keeping lows at 25C or higher.
41.4C in Yangsan on Friday set the highest reading since local records began in 2008 and the highest among the KMA’s 97 climate stations.
1,638 people suffered heat-related illness from May 15 to July 29, including 12 deaths, after 81 new cases and three more fatalities were added in the latest daily tally.
419,014 livestock and 131,295 farmed fish have died in the heat, while drought in the Yeongnam region has cut dam storage and left some Tongyeong islands short of daily-use water.
Heat-wave alerts cover most of the country, and authorities urged residents to halt nonessential outdoor work and check on elderly people living alone.
With highest-level emergency warnings triggered, could the forecasted brief thunderstorms actually make South Korea's suffocating heatwave even more dangerous?
As temperatures push past 39 degrees in South Korea, what hidden crisis is silently threatening the southern regions?