SEOUL, August 5 — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung declared a national disaster state on Monday as an unprecedented heat wave across the Korean Peninsula pushed temperatures to historic highs, killed at least 19 people, and hospitalized more than 2,200 with heat-related illnesses since mid-May.
Record-Breaking Temperatures
The southeastern city of Yangsan recorded a temperature of 42.5°C (108.5°F) on Sunday — the highest ever registered since modern weather observations began in South Korea in 1904. The nearby city of Daegu surpassed 40°C for the first time since August 1942, reaching 40.9°C, while Goryeong County, southeast of Daegu, hit 41.2°C.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) attributed the prolonged extreme heat to overlapping high-pressure systems parked over the peninsula combined with intense direct sunlight under predominantly clear skies — a pattern that forecasters expect to persist through the coming week.
First-Ever Highest-Level Heat Alert for Seoul
At 11 a.m. local time on Tuesday, the KMA issued its highest-level “severe heat wave warning” for southern Seoul and surrounding areas of Gyeonggi Province — the first time the capital region has been placed under the top-tier alert since the upgraded warning system was introduced in June. Under criteria established this year, the highest alert is triggered when perceived temperatures exceed 38°C or actual temperatures reach 39°C or higher for two consecutive days.
Multiple provincial governments followed suit. Gyeonggi Province raised seven cities and counties to the maximum warning level and elevated its disaster response headquarters to Level 2 emergency status, suspending outdoor public construction work during daytime high-temperature periods. Cities in South Jeolla Province, including Jeonju, Suncheon, Gwangyang, and Suncheon, as well as Gwangju Metropolitan City, also issued severe heat warnings.
Rising Human Toll
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the cumulative toll since May 15 stands at 2,221 reported heat illness cases and 19 confirmed deaths. On Sunday alone, 108 people nationwide sought emergency room treatment for heat-related conditions. In Incheon, west of Seoul, a man in his 40s died on Monday morning with a body temperature approaching 40°C after being hospitalized the previous day. Two farmers, aged 60s and 80s respectively, were found dead in South Chungcheong Province on Sunday.
Government Response
Addressing a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Lee characterized the situation as a “national disaster state” and called for a fundamental overhaul of the country’s crisis management framework to account for what he described as the “normalization of extreme climate events.” He instructed government ministries to strengthen protections for vulnerable populations, including residents of makeshift housing and elderly people living alone, and ordered stricter enforcement of labor regulations guaranteeing workers’ right to stop during dangerous heat conditions.
Seoul City government activated a three-track emergency response plan centered on “work stoppage, cooling measures, and community care,” opening public cooling centers and deploying outreach teams to check on at-risk residents. The Ministry of Employment and Labor announced intensified on-site inspections at construction sites and factories to ensure compliance with heat safety protocols.
Power Grid Under Strain
Surging air conditioner usage has placed extraordinary demand on South Korea’s electrical grid. President Lee specifically directed officials to conduct urgent inspections of power system stability to prevent outages during peak consumption hours. The heat wave arrives during a period when the nation was already managing elevated energy demand from industrial activity and a sustained economic recovery.
Meteorologists have warned that the current heat dome shows no immediate signs of breaking, with daily highs forecast to remain above 35°C across most of the southern and central peninsula through at least the weekend.
— VGMG Reporting