Earliest heat-related death on record reported amid scorching heat

People walk through Seoul Forest in eastern Seoul, Thursday, when day temperatures in the city went up to 31 degrees Celsius amid early heat across the country. Yonhap

South Korea's first death from heat-related illnesses this year was reported Saturday amid an early heat wave, marking the earliest such case on record in any year, the health authorities said.

A man in his 80s in Seoul was reported to have died of heat-related complications, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, citing its emergency room monitoring system for heat-related illnesses.

This marked the earliest heat illness-related death since the monitoring system was introduced. This year, the KDCA began launching the monitoring system across 516 emergency rooms nationwide Friday.

The earliest heat-related death was reported amid an unusually early heat wave. The nation's average high temperature reached 28.2 Celsius, Saturday, and Seoul's daily high hit 31.3 Celsius, hotter than the seasonal average.

A total of seven patients visited emergency rooms due to heat-related illnesses Friday. By region, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported the highest number of patients with four, followed by the capital with two cases and Incheon, west of Seoul, with one.