SEOUL – South Korea has experienced a significant surge in heat-related illnesses as the monsoon season concludes, bringing a wave of extreme heat. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), from July 22 to 24, 507 medical institutions with emergency rooms reported 124 patients suffering from heat-related conditions, with 55 cases occurring on July 24 alone.
This sudden increase constitutes 16.3 percent of all heat-related illness cases reported since the KDCA began monitoring such incidents in 2024. Since May 20, there have been up to 759 cases of heat-related illnesses. The number of cases this week is 3.5 times higher than the previous week, which saw 35 cases from July 15 to 17.
Men accounted for 78.7 percent of the patients, with 29.5 percent of them aged 65 and above. Patients in their 20s represented 11.1 percent of cases, while those in their 30s made up 13.2 percent. Heat exhaustion was the most common condition, constituting 54.4 percent of the cases, followed by heat stroke, heat cramps, and heat syncope.
The KDCA attributed this week’s spike in heat-related illnesses to the rise in temperatures and humidity levels, exacerbated by intermittent rain showers across the nation. On July 24, the average daytime temperature in South Korea reached 34 degrees Celsius, with some cities in Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong, and South Jeolla provinces experiencing temperatures as high as 35 degrees Celsius.
The high humidity levels made temperatures feel as intense as 35 degrees Celsius, prompting heatwave warnings to be issued nationwide from July 24 to 26. In South Korea, heatwave warnings are triggered when the highest apparent temperature is forecast to exceed 33 degrees Celsius for two consecutive days or more.
On July 26, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) raised the heatwave warning level from “caution” to “alert” in most parts of the country. This level is activated when daytime temperatures are forecast to exceed 35 degrees Celsius for two consecutive days or more. The heatwave warnings have four levels of intensity: attention, caution, alert, and serious.
Major cities such as Seoul, Daejeon, and Daegu expected daytime temperatures to reach up to 34 degrees Celsius on July 26, with Seoul experiencing the “alert” level warning for the first time in 2024. In other cities, the warning remained at the “caution” level.
The KMA noted that increased humidity could make it feel one to two degrees hotter than the actual temperatures. They explained that the recent high temperatures are due to the atmosphere being covered with hot air layers. The upper layer is influenced by the hot and dry Tibetan anticyclone, while the mid and lower layers are affected by the warm and humid North Pacific anticyclone.
KMA official Woo Jin-kyu stated that Typhoon Gaemi, which made landfall in southeastern China on July 25, will continue to bring hot, moist air into the region, causing high temperatures and heatwave warnings to persist through the weekend.