Seoul issues highest-level heat wave emergency warning as heat spreads west

At lunchtime in Seoul Tuesday, the streets around Gwanghwamun were eerily quiet. The rows of outdoor cafes that usually spill over with office workers and tourists were left with more empty chairs than customers. The city’s white igloo-shaped “Haepiso” cooling shelter offered a brief escape from the sun, but even inside the dome, the air felt closer to warm and stuffy than cool. “It feels warm even in here — it’s probably 26 to 27 degrees Celsius with the air conditioner running,” a city staffer who manages the temporary facility told The Korea Times. “This area is usually crowded with people around this time, but not today.” The Korea Meteorological Administration issued the highest-level heat wave warning for the capital’s northeastern and northwestern districts earlier in the day, expanding the designation that had already been in place for the southeastern and southwestern districts. With the latest upgrade, the entire city is now under the heat wave emergency warning as continued scorching heat pushed its daytime temperature to 38 degrees Celsius. Authorities issu

The highest-level heat wave warning was issued for Seoul for the first time Tuesday, as continued scorching heat is expected to push the capital's daytime temperature to 38 C. The serious heat wave warning had been issued for the southeastern and southwestern areas of Seoul as of 11 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. Consequently, 11 wards in the capital, including Gangnam, Songpa, Gangseo and Gwanak, came under the influence of the warning, which was first introduced to the nation's heat wave advisory system on June 1. A serious heat wave warning is issued when the highest perceived temperature reaches 38 C or higher, or the maximum daily temperature reaches 39 C or higher, in an area where the highest perceived temperature is 35 C or higher for two or more consecutive days. As the heat wave has intensified, 18 additional heat-related illness cases were reported in Seoul on Monday, government data showed, bringing the city's cumulative total since May 15 to 185, including two deaths. The Seoul metropolitan government said it was closely monitoring the rise in hea

Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province came under the capital region’s first Heat Wave Emergency Warning on Monday, as record-breaking heat in southeastern South Korea spread westward. The Korea Meteorological Administration issued the warning at 4 p.m. for Tuesday, when the daily maximum perceived temperature is expected to exceed 38 degrees Celsius and the daytime high is forecast to surpass 39 C. The warning, the highest level in the KMA’s heat alert system, applies to all Seoul districts south of the Han River, including Gangnam-gu, as well as Osan, Hanam and western Yeoju in Gyeonggi Province. READ: South Korea on high […]...Keep on reading: Highest-level heat wave warning issued for Greater Seoul area

An intense heat wave gripping the Korean Peninsula is shifting westward, with the greater Seoul area bracing for conditions even hotter than in past weeks and authorities rolling out measures to protect vulnerable residents. A heat wave emergency warning, the highest alert level, will take effect at 11 a.m. Tuesday in southeastern and southwestern Seoul, Osan, Hanam and western Yeoju in Gyeonggi Province and Jangseong and northern Gokseong in South Jeolla Province, marking the first time the warning will have been issued in the greater Seoul area since the new alert system was introduced in June. The warning is issued when a region that has already had a perceived temperature of 35 degrees Celsius or higher for at least two consecutive days is expected to reach a perceived temperature of 38 degrees or higher, or an actual temperature of 39 degrees or higher, for at least one more day. It serves as a strong signal urging even healthy people to take extra precautions and halt outdoor work such as farming. As of 3 p.m. Monday, the day's highest temperature nationwide reached 41.1 degrees Ce

An intense heat wave gripping the Korean Peninsula is shifting westward, with the greater Seoul area bracing for conditions even hotter than in past weeks and authorities rolling out measures to protect vulnerable residents. As of 3 p.m. Monday, the day's highest temperature reached 41.1 degrees Celsius in Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, followed by 40.9 degrees in Daegu and 40.7 degrees in Uiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province. Seoul's highest perceived temperature reached 36.1 degrees. The heat in western regions is expected to intensify further as low-level winds near the surface shift to easterlies, pushing the foehn phenomenon into the greater Seoul area, west of the Baekdudaegan mountain range. The range runs from Mount Baekdu in the far north to Mount Jiri in the south. The phenomenon, which occurs when wind crosses a mountain range and becomes hotter and drier on the other side, has been a major driver of the recent record heat in South Gyeongsang Province. The intensifying heat is already taking a toll. As of Saturday, 1,889 people had suffered heat-related illnesses and 14 had