South Korea issues first major heat alert of the year, urging caution for vulnerable groups

With the monsoon season easing and a heat wave gripping the country, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency urged people vulnerable to extreme heat — including the elderly and the infirm — to strictly follow health guidelines.

As intense heat struck the nation Sunday, Gyeongsan and Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province received the country's first major heat wave alerts of the year.

The KDCA issued the alerts for both cities at 10 a.m. Sunday, calling on residents to take precautions against heat-related illness.

A major heat wave alert is issued when the daily maximum apparent temperature is expected to reach 38 degrees Celsius or above — or the actual high to reach 39 degrees or above — for at least one day in an area that has already seen apparent temperatures of 35 degrees or higher for more than two consecutive days.

Extreme heat can trigger heat-related illnesses such as heatstroke and heat exhaustion, and can worsen pre-existing conditions including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, respiratory illness and kidney disease.

For people aged 65 and older in particular, apparent temperatures at or above the major-alert threshold of 38 degrees pose a direct and serious health threat.

Research shows that when the apparent temperature reaches 38 degrees, the overall mortality risk for people 65 and older rises by 19 percent, while their risk of dying from cardiovascular disease increases by 14 percent.

Those figures are considerably higher than the corresponding increases seen in people under 65, whose overall mortality risk rises by 4 percent and cardiovascular disease mortality risk by 7 percent under the same conditions.

To reduce the risk, health authorities advise drinking water frequently, resting in cool, shaded environments and avoiding outdoor activity during the hottest parts of the day.

The KDCA said that in areas under a major heat wave alert, farm and construction work, sports activities and outdoor events should be suspended or postponed immediately.

The agency's heat-illness emergency room surveillance system, which operates in conjunction with more than 520 emergency rooms nationwide, recorded 535 cumulative heat-related illness cases as of Friday, with two suspected deaths.

Last year, about 30 percent of the annual total of 4,460 heat-related illness cases — 1,341 patients — occurred between July 20 and July 31.

Heat-related deaths during that period numbered 10, accounting for 35 percent of the full-year total of 29.

The figures illustrate how quickly the toll can surge during a sustained period of extreme heat.

"Even healthy individuals can be seriously affected by heat during a major heat wave alert," KDCA Commissioner Lim Seung-cheong said. "We urge those who are especially vulnerable — including the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant women, children and those with underlying conditions — to take extra care."