19 dead, thousands ill as record-breaking heat wave scorches South Korea

South Korea's worst heat wave in decades has left 19 dead and over 3,100 ill from heat-related conditions. With power demand at historic highs due to air conditioning use, officials warn of continued extreme heat into August

Seoul: A total of 19 people have died from heat-related illnesses in South Korea so far this year as the country endured severe heat waves, health authorities said on Sunday.

More than 3,100 patients had visited emergency rooms for heat-related conditions as of Wednesday since mid-May, when authorities launched the heat-related illness surveillance system, and 19 have died, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).

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The number of patients and deaths has more than doubled, compared with the same period last year, it added. Among the patients reported this year, heat exhaustion, commonly known as sunstroke, accounted for 61.3 per cent, followed by heat stroke at 16.2 per cent, and heat cramps at 12.8 per cent.

By age group, those aged 65 and older accounted for 31.9 per cent of the total patients, the KDCA said. South Korea‘s average daily maximum power demand hit a record high last month as the country endured one of the most severe summer heat waves on record, data showed on Sunday. The country’s peak power demand in July averaged 85 gigawatts, up 5.6 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Power Exchange.

The reading marked the highest level for any July since 1993, when the government began compiling relevant data. The monthly high was recorded in August 2024, when the figure came to 87.8 GW. The record in July was driven by increased electricity consumption for air conditioning, as the heat wave persisted throughout the month.

According to the state weather agency, the number of days with daily high temperatures reaching 33 degrees Celsius or higher totalled 15 days last month, more than four times the July average of 3.4 days over the past 53 years, since record-keeping began in 1973.

Tropical nights, where nighttime temperatures stayed above 25 degrees Celsius, persisted for a total of 23 days in July, the longest stretch since 1973. The government expects peak electricity demand this summer to reach up to 97.8 GW in the second week of August and is maintaining a power reserve of around 10 GW.