On the morning of the 29th, a heat wave warning was issued for all inland areas nationwide. Even Taebaek in Gangwon Province, which was previously the only area exempt from the heat wave, is now under its influence. As a result, the entire country, except for Hallasan, is experiencing a heat wave.
As a result, a heat wave warning has been issued for 161 out of 183 land meteorological warning zones (88%) and a heat wave advisory for 20 zones (11%). A heat wave warning is in effect for all regions in Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Daegu, Gyeonggi Province, South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, and North Jeolla. The heat wave advisory applies to the five islands of the West Sea, Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province, Ongjin in Incheon, and Ulleungdo and Dokdo. The only places where no heat wave advisory or warning has been issued are Hallasan and its surrounding areas in Jeju.
The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heat wave advisory for Taebaek effective at 10 a.m. that day. A heat wave advisory is issued when the maximum perceived temperature is expected to remain above 33 degrees Celsius for more than two days. A heat wave warning is issued when this threshold reaches 35 degrees Celsius.
The average elevation of Taebaek is 902.2 meters, which is higher than that of Namsan in Seoul (270 meters) when stacked twice. The highest point is the summit of Hambaeksan (1,570.3 meters), while the average elevation in urban areas is 741.9 meters and 947.8 meters in non-urban areas. The lowest point is Jeokgak-dong (385 meters).
Due to its high altitude, Taebaek does not typically experience heat waves and tropical nights in the summer. The average maximum temperatures in July and August during the normal years (average from 1991 to 2020) are 25.9 degrees and 26.0 degrees Celsius, respectively. Days where the maximum temperature exceeds 33 degrees Celsius (heat wave days) averaged about 0.5 days in both July and August.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the perceived temperature nationwide as of 1 p.m. that day is around 31 to 38 degrees Celsius. By 1 p.m., the maximum temperature in Seoul reached 35.4 degrees, while Ganaem in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, recorded 37.9 degrees. The Korea Meteorological Administration forecasted that temperatures would rise during the day, with maximum perceived temperatures in most regions approaching around 35 degrees, making it extremely hot.