South Korea issues first emergency heat wave warning
Seoul—South Korea issued its first-ever emergency heat wave alert on Sunday under a new warning system launched this year, advising people to halt outdoor activities and keep cool.
The new warning system was introduced to better deal with a rising number of heat waves in South Korea, which have become longer and more intense, officials said.
An emergency alert is issued when areas experiencing a heat wave are forecast to hit perceived temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius or an actual temperature of 39 C for one day.
“The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) issued an emergency heat wave warning at 10 a.m. today (GMT 0100) for two cities in southern North Gyeongsang Province—Gyeongsan and Pohang,” said agency chief Lee Mi-seon.
“This marks the first time it has been issued since the system took effect,” she added.
The affected areas saw temperatures reach the emergency criteria over the weekend.
“An emergency heat wave warning does not simply mean the weather is extremely hot,” Lee said.
“It indicates conditions in which even healthy people face a significantly elevated risk of serious harm, including heat-related illness and death.”
People engaged in outdoor activities should stop immediately and move to a cool place, and no one, including children or pets, should be left inside a vehicle, she added.
Much of the country—including parts of Seoul—remained under heat wave warnings, which are issued when the perceived temperature is expected to stay at 35 C or higher for two consecutive days.
Such warnings take both temperature and humidity into account, according to the KMA.
Children tried to cool off from the heat on Sunday by running through the water jets at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter saw.
People also sought refuge in air-conditioned shopping malls.
KMA data show the average annual number of heat wave days in the country has more than doubled to 19 over the past five years, from eight in the 1970s.
The average annual number of tropical nights has also jumped from four to 14 over the same period.
A heat wave day is defined as one with a maximum temperature of at least 33 C, while a tropical night is one when the overnight low remains 25 C or above.
The new system comes as Europe endures a scorching summer, after a June heat wave shattered temperature records across the continent.
Scientists warn that extreme weather events such as heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of human-induced climate change.
France recorded more than 2,000 excess deaths during the June heat wave, and 300 during the high temperatures in late May, according to official figures.
The Eiffel Tower and other Paris landmarks closed early over the weekend, and cycling’s Tour de France shortened a stage for the first time in its history.
All-time temperature records have been broken in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as for the month of June in the UK and Switzerland.
