'Monster heat wave' leaves 1,146 people suffering heat-related illnesses in 1 week

Firefighters prepare heat-wave response supplies, including ice vests and ice packs, at the Jeongja 119 Safety Center of the Suwon Fire Station in Jangan District, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Yonhap

The recent “monster heat wave,” which has given people little time to adapt to the soaring temperatures, has caused a record number of heat-related illnesses over the past week, with 1,146 people seeking emergency medical treatment. The figure is the highest since the country began keeping records in 2011, surpassing the level recorded during the notorious 2018 heat wave.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Thursday, 2,872 people had been diagnosed with heat-related illnesses between May 15, when the agency began operating its heat-related illness surveillance system, and Wednesday. That was about 86 percent of the 3,321 cases recorded during the same period last year. However, the number of heat-related deaths this year stood at 23, two more than last year.

The KDCA counts the daily number of people who visit 516 emergency rooms nationwide with conditions such as heatstroke and heat exhaustion.

The lower cumulative number of heat-related illnesses this year is attributable to relatively mild weather through early July. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, the national average temperature in June was 22.2 degrees Celsius, below the 22.9 degree Celsius recorded in June 2024 and 22.7 degrees Celsius last year, both of which were higher. In early July, the monsoon season, which arrived later than usual, helped cool temperatures.

As a result, only 535 cases of heat-related illness had been reported through July 10, or 36.6 percent of the 1,462 cases recorded during the same period last year. The number of deaths was also significantly lower, at two compared with nine last year.

But temperatures began rising sharply around July 12, when the country's first severe heat wave warning of the year was issued, and heat-related illnesses quickly increased.

Despite the continuing heat wave on Friday which marked "ipchu," the solar term signaling the beginning of autumn, intense sunlight shines down on crape myrtle blossoms in full bloom in downtown Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. Yonhap

The severity of this year's heat wave becomes particularly apparent when comparing the hottest periods of the last two years. Last year, the highest weekly number of heat-related illnesses occurred from July 27 to Aug. 2, when 803 people were affected and eight died.

This year, 1,146 people sought emergency medical treatment for heat-related illnesses during the seven-day period from July 31 to Thursday, when temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius in some areas. That was 343 more than during the corresponding peak period last year, while the number of deaths, at seven, was similar.

The figure also surpassed the previous weekly record of 1,106 cases, recorded from July 29 to Aug. 4, 2018, since the surveillance system was introduced in 2011. There were 13 deaths during that period.

The heat wave has been particularly deadly for older people. From May 15 through Tuesday, people aged 80 and older had the highest incidence of reported heat-related illness, at 12.5 cases per 100,000 people. They were followed by those in their 70s, at 7.4 cases, and those in their 60s, at 5.8 cases.

Of the 21 heat-related deaths recorded during the same period, 13, or 62 percent, involved people aged 80 or older.

While heat-related illnesses occurred mainly at outdoor workplaces and in fields and farmland, home was not necessarily a safe place for people aged 80 and older. Among those in this age group, 18 percent of heat-related illnesses occurred at home, significantly higher than the overall figure of 7 percent.

In response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare launched a program on July 12, under which visiting health nurses check on elderly people who complain of dizziness caused by the heat and connect them with medical institutions when necessary.

“Family members and neighbors also need to frequently check on the health conditions of older people and the indoor environment in their homes,” a ministry official said.

Lee Kyung-won, a professor of emergency medicine at Yongin Severance Hospital, said that people have less time to acclimatize when temperatures rise suddenly.

“Even with the same heat wave, people can acclimatize to the heat if temperatures rise gradually, but this year, temperatures rose so suddenly that the shock has been greater,” Lee said. “We are seeing many elderly people collapse while working in fields, as well as people who come to emergency rooms after going for a run. People should not ignore text alerts from the government and local authorities advising them to refrain from going outside. They should follow those recommendations.”

An elderly person collecting waste paper drinks water in Hyochang-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Tuesday, as Seoul issued its first-ever severe heat wave warning, the highest level of heat wave alert. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.