The death toll from South Korea’s record heat wave has risen to 19, prompting President Lee Jae Myung to describe the situation as a national disaster and order authorities to help affected people quickly.
At a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4, Lee ordered measures to protect daily life and inspections of the electricity-supply system as air-conditioner use surged. Extreme conditions caused by abnormal weather could persist for a long period, he said, calling for major reforms to the disaster-management system.
The Korea Meteorological Administration said temperatures reached 42.5 C in the southeastern basin city of Yangsan on Sunday, the city’s highest reading in 122 years of weather observations.
A heat warning was issued Monday for the first time in Seoul and parts of the neighboring Gyeonggi region. The warning was extended across Seoul on Tuesday, with authorities advising that outdoor work such as farming, sports and construction be suspended.
Some residents of a low-income neighborhood in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo district said they had never experienced such intense heat. The government moved some residents to temporary air-conditioned accommodation, although many homeless people continued to live on the streets in the area.
Firefighters and other officials sprayed water on roads and monitored vulnerable residents. Authorities said 2,025 people had suffered heat-related illnesses nationwide since May 15. 13 of the 19 people who died were 80 or older.
Two scheduled baseball games in Seoul and Gwangju were also canceled Tuesday because of the heat.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report