With the likelihood high that the super heat wave that struck Europe could also hit the Korean Peninsula, experts said Korea must establish preemptive warning and health systems that account for this risk. They especially called for strengthening nighttime and weekend operations of heatwave shelters and improving access within everyday living areas, given that Europe's low air-conditioner penetration contributed to significant loss of life.
According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 8th, the previous day a "meeting of experts on the European heat wave situation and Korea's response" was held, chaired by Kim Yong-gyun, head of the Natural Disaster Division. Experts from the Korea Meteorological Administration, Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, Korea Environment Institute (KEI), and the Autonomous University of Barcelona took part to identify the causes of Europe's heat wave and discuss why it led to large-scale casualties.
Kim Ho, a professor at the Seoul National University Graduate School of Public Health, said, "From late June, a heat dome and omega blocking pattern stalled over western and central Europe," adding, "Temperatures ran 5–12°C above the seasonal average, and an estimated 190 million people were exposed to temperatures of 35°C or higher."
Kim added, "According to France's public health authority, approximately 1,000 excess deaths occurred over the three-day peak of the heat wave," and said, "Because a super heat wave can occur domestically as well, we need to reexamine cooling-vulnerable groups and infrastructure and establish a real-time health monitoring system."
Chae Yeo-ra, a research fellow at the Korea Environment Institute (KEI), noted, "In both Europe and Korea, the risk of death from high temperatures does not rise uniformly but shows a nonlinear response that climbs steeply beyond a threshold," and pointed out, "Work environments act as factors that amplify heat wave damage."
Chae continued, "The European heat wave is a compound disaster in which transport, power, and water infrastructure come under simultaneous strain," adding, "Water shortages can constrain power plant cooling and hydropower generation, and reduced power supply can trigger a chain risk that even weakens the capacity to protect cooling-vulnerable groups."
Chae said, "The spread of cooling is one of the essential health-protection infrastructures to reduce heat wave damage, so there is a need to strengthen nighttime and weekend operations of heatwave shelters and improve access within everyday living areas," adding, "By region, authorities must segment and manage risk factors for older adults, people living alone, outdoor workers, and housing-vulnerable groups."
Beginning this year, the government introduced a new "severe heat wave alert" stage to supplement the existing heat advisory system and is operating a preemptive early warning framework. The "severe heat wave alert" is issued when a daily high of 39°C (or a daily maximum heat index of 38°C) or higher is forecast.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, Korea's average temperature from this month through September is projected to be higher than normal. Noh Kyung-sook, head of climate change monitoring at the Korea Meteorological Administration, said, "Due to the high sea surface temperatures in the northern Indian Ocean and the North Pacific, anticyclonic circulation will intensify to Korea's east, which raises the likelihood of temperature increases through the inflow of hot southerly winds and increased solar radiation."
Kim Yong-gyun, head of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) Natural Disaster Division, said, "Extreme heat waves caused by climate change are disasters that the world must tackle together," adding, "We will closely analyze overseas cases and work with experts to strengthen heat wave response capacity and protect people's lives and safety."