Seoul's Nowon-gu district office convened an emergency heat wave response meeting Monday afternoon at its fifth-floor planning situation room, following the government's elevation of the heat wave crisis alert to "serious" and the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters' declaration of Emergency Level 2. Officials reviewed measures to prevent heat-related harm to residents.
A record-breaking heat wave has gripped the country in recent weeks, with the cumulative number of heat-related illness cases nationwide reaching 1,889 as of Saturday. In response, the district said it would again review its response framework to protect vulnerable residents and minimize public inconvenience, pledging thorough on-the-ground readiness.
District Mayor Seo Jun-o chaired the meeting, which was attended by heads of relevant departments including the Safe City Division, Welfare Policy Division and Senior Support Division. Participants shared updates on real-time heat wave monitoring, protection measures for vulnerable groups, operation of heat-reduction facilities and worker safety management, and agreed to strengthen field-centered response systems through inter-departmental cooperation.
Since July, the district has been operating 18 "healing refrigerators" — outdoor cooling stations — at major walking paths and riverside locations across the area to help residents prevent heat-related illness.
The district is also running 297 designated cooling centers for heat-vulnerable residents. When a heat wave advisory is in effect, it provides nighttime cooling shelter for residents 65 and older through agreements with nearby lodging establishments.
"With a record heat wave continuing, protecting the lives and safety of residents is our top priority," Seo said. "We will particularly strengthen on-site inspections of heat-vulnerable facilities such as senior centers and concentrate all administrative resources to ensure no gaps in protecting vulnerable groups."
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