Seoul mobilizes full heat-wave response as temperatures set to hit 33 C this week

With the monsoon season drawing to a close and daytime highs in Seoul forecast to reach around 33 degrees Celsius this week, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has launched an all-out heat-wave response to protect residents' lives and safety, focusing on vulnerable populations and measures to ease the urban heat-island effect.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon issued a special directive Monday, calling on city officials to strengthen protection and heat-illness prevention guidance for vulnerable groups — including elderly people living alone, residents of low-income single-room housing, homeless people and outdoor workers — and to ensure that cooling shelters, shade structures and water-spraying trucks are deployed immediately whenever a heat-wave advisory or warning is issued.

To prevent casualties from heat-related illness, the city is intensifying tailored support and protection for heat-vulnerable residents, including homeless people, low-income single-room housing residents and the elderly. Emergency relief teams and special response units are operating for homeless and single-room housing residents, providing dedicated daytime cooling spaces and nighttime heat refuges.

The city is also stepping up welfare checks on health-vulnerable residents such as elderly people living alone, people with disabilities and those with chronic illnesses, conducting phone calls and in-person visits whenever a heat-wave advisory is in effect. Households facing financial hardship can receive support through Seoul's emergency welfare program and energy vouchers. The emergency welfare benefit for a four-person household stands at 1.99 million won ($1,360), up 120,000 won from last year.

Protections for outdoor and mobile workers directly exposed to the heat are also being strengthened. The city will conduct intensive checks at heat-vulnerable worksites — including construction sites, public employment program sites and sanitation operations — to ensure compliance with heat-illness prevention guidelines. Under a heat-wave advisory, employers are advised to adjust working hours and shorten outdoor shifts; once a heat-wave warning is issued, outdoor work is in principle suspended during peak heat hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, 30 rest facilities for mobile workers such as delivery riders and designated-driver service workers will remain in operation, with extended hours through next month during the intense summer heat. About 100,000 bottles of iced water will be distributed to help prevent heat illness.

To help residents beat the heat close to home and work, the city is running a dense network of neighborhood cooling shelters at more than 4,000 locations, including community centers, senior centers and welfare facilities. When a heat-wave advisory or warning is in effect, weekday operating hours will be extended and the shelters will also open on weekends and public holidays.

To ease the urban heat-island effect, the city is expanding street-level cooling infrastructure including cooling roads, cooling fog systems and shade structures. Cooling road sections — which use water to lower pavement temperatures — will be extended to 19 stretches totaling 5.67 kilometers, including new segments between City Hall Station and Sungnyemun Gate. The cooling fog network will grow from 187 to 240 locations. Shade structures are being added at crosswalks, plazas and parks, and aging or damaged units are being replaced.

A new outdoor cooling space called "Happiso," introduced by Seoul this year, is already operating at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu and Banghak Sagye Square in Dobong-gu, with plans to expand to 14 locations in total. A separate "cool roof" project — applying solar-reflective paint to building rooftops to lower indoor temperatures — is targeting more than 200 older homes and welfare facilities for elderly and disabled residents this year.

Road-cooling operations are also being intensified. A fleet of 199 water-cleaning vehicles will cover 2,163 kilometers of major and secondary roads, operating one to two times daily between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. during peak heat hours. When a heat-wave advisory or warning is in effect, the frequency will increase to six or more runs per day between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m.

The city is continuously monitoring weather conditions and will immediately activate a heat-wave integrated support operations center at both the city and district levels whenever a heat-wave advisory or warning is issued, enabling coordinated responses across relevant agencies. A heat-wave advisory has been in effect across all of Seoul since 10 a.m. Friday.

The city plans to continuously disseminate heat-wave safety guidelines through emergency text alerts, its official website and SNS channels.

"To prevent heat illness, people should avoid outdoor activities during the hottest part of the day and drink plenty of water," a Seoul Metropolitan Government official said. "If symptoms such as dizziness or headaches appear, rest immediately in a cool place, and seek medical attention if the symptoms persist."