99 heat illness cases sent to ERs in a single day as heat wave grips South Korea

Heat exhaustion and heatstroke cases are surging across the country as a heat wave tightens its grip. Health authorities are urging people to avoid outdoor activities as much as possible and stay well hydrated.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Sunday that 99 people visited emergency rooms with heat-related illnesses on Saturday alone. No deaths were reported.

By region, Gyeonggi Province recorded the most cases with 20, followed by South Gyeongsang Province with 15, South Chungcheong Province with 14, North Jeolla Province with 11, South Jeolla Province and Gwangju combined with 7, Gangwon Province and North Chungcheong Province with 6 each, North Gyeongsang Province with 5, Seoul, Daejeon and Ulsan with 3 each, Daegu and Jeju with 2 each, and Busan and Incheon with 1 each.

The daily case count rose roughly fivefold in a single day, up from 21 on Friday.

The KDCA has been operating a heat illness emergency room surveillance network involving 516 medical institutions nationwide since May 15.

Since the surveillance system was activated this year, a cumulative total of 636 heat illness cases and two presumed deaths have been recorded on a preliminary basis.

While the numbers remain below last year's levels, health authorities warned that the elderly, children and people with chronic conditions should take extra care for now, given the intensity of the current heat wave. During the same period last year — May 15 through July 11 — cumulative cases reached 1,512, with nine deaths.

Of this year's 636 cumulative cases, about 28.8 percent involved people aged 65 or older, and heat exhaustion accounted for more than half of all diagnoses at 57.7 percent.

Cases were most frequent between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m., accounting for 15.4 percent of the total, followed by 2–3 p.m. at 11.0 percent and 3–4 p.m. at 10.4 percent.

Outdoor settings such as fields and farmland accounted for the vast majority of cases at 86.5 percent.

Extreme heat not only directly causes conditions such as heatstroke and heat exhaustion but can also worsen existing illnesses including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, respiratory conditions and kidney disease.

Particularly when a severe heat wave alert is issued, even healthy individuals engaging in outdoor activities risk developing serious heat-related illness, the agency cautioned.

The KDCA advises people to avoid outdoor activities during heat waves as much as possible and to move to cool, shaded areas if they must be outside. The agency also recommends drinking water regularly and frequently, even when not thirsty, to stay adequately hydrated.