As an extreme heat emergency warning continued in Seoul for a second day, 39 heat-related illness cases occurred in a single day. With this, the highest tally of the year is being broken day after day.
According to official statistics from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Aug. 5, there were 39 heat-related illness cases in Seoul the previous day.
Through last month, July 13 saw the most heat-related illness cases with 12. However, since the start of this month, the record high is being surpassed day after day. The heat-related illness tally set a record high for three consecutive days: 18 on the 2nd, 25 on the 3rd, and then again on the third straight day.
Since counts began on May 15 this year, the cumulative number of heat-related illness cases is 250 in total, including 2 deaths.
The Korea Meteorological Administration issued an extreme heat emergency warning for all of Seoul at 11 a.m. on the 4th. It has maintained the emergency warning since.
The city and each district are operating heat wave situation rooms with a total of 105 teams and 558 staff, and are maintaining the heat wave crisis alert level at "alert."
Currently, support and protection activities are being carried out for a total of 68,391 residents vulnerable to the heat, including 46,074 people living alone who are elderly, 12,935 outdoor workers, 6,371 people with disabilities or chronic illnesses, 2,152 people who are homeless, and 859 residents of single-room units.
In addition, a total of 1,848 facilities are being operated, including climate companion shelters, heat wave shelters, emergency shelters, mobile worker shelters, and heat mitigation facilities.