South Korea's Lee orders emergency response to record heatwave
by Thomas Maresca · UPISEOUL, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday ordered an all-out government response to a record-breaking heatwave that has killed 21 people and sent thousands to hospitals.
Lee issued the directive during an emergency meeting with cabinet ministers and local government leaders as the country grappled with temperatures above 104 degrees in several regions. The southeastern city of Yangsan reached 108.5 degrees Sunday, the highest temperature recorded in South Korea since modern meteorological observations began in 1904.
"We are experiencing extreme heat unlike anything seen before, continuing day after day," Lee said in opening remarks. "This kind of heatwave -- the sort we used to see only in foreign news reports -- has now become our reality."
Lee ordered an enhanced nationwide heatwave response system, directing ministries and local governments to mobilize all available personnel and resources until temperatures ease.
He stressed protecting vulnerable groups, including elderly people living alone and residents of cramped single-room housing, while ordering stricter enforcement of mandatory rest breaks at outdoor work sites. Lee also ordered preventive measures to protect livestock, fish farms and crops, and to monitor roads, railways and other critical infrastructure.
During the closed-door session, ministries briefed Lee on damage from the heatwave and drought and outlined measures being taken in response, senior presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a statement released after the meeting.
Lee asked whether artificial intelligence could be used to help monitor the welfare of vulnerable residents and urged ministries to strengthen protections for migrant workers after citing media reports about laborers exposed to extreme heat.
The directives came as Seoul endured temperatures above 100 degrees Thursday, approaching its all-time high of 103 recorded in August 2018.
The Korea Meteorological Administration issued its highest-level heatwave warning for Seoul on Wednesday as residents sought relief by staying indoors and visiting cooling centers. The city has deployed additional measures, including spraying roads with water to lower surface temperatures and inviting visitors to cool off in Cheonggyecheon, the stream that runs through downtown Seoul.
The Korea Baseball Organization also canceled all scheduled games through Sunday because of the extreme heat, extending an earlier suspension.
A total of 21 people have died from heat-related illnesses in South Korea since mid-May, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Wednesday, while more than 2,400 patients have visited emergency rooms with heat-related conditions.
South Korea has experienced increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves in recent years, a trend scientists largely attribute to climate change.
In a report released Thursday, the Korea Meteorological Administration projected that the country's average summer wet-bulb globe temperature -- a measure combining temperature and humidity -- could rise from about 80 degrees under the current climate to nearly 92 by the end of the century without significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
Under a high-emissions scenario, the agency said the number of summer days posing an extreme heat-stress risk could increase from about 1.8 per year currently to 51.6 by the latter half of the century.
With little rain in the forecast, Lee also instructed authorities to expand alternative water supplies and operate pumping equipment to prevent disruptions as drought conditions worsen across southern parts of the country.
"Protecting the lives and safety of the people is the government's most important duty," he said.