The number of heat-related illness cases is rising in South Korea at the fastest pace on record this summer amid scorching heat, health authorities said Thursday, urging vulnerable groups to take extra precautions.
A total of 1,228 patients have visited emergency rooms for heat-related conditions as of Wednesday since mid-May, when authorities launched the heat-related illness surveillance system, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
It marked the earliest time since the monitoring system began in 2011 that the number of cases has surpassed 1,000. Of these patients, eight have died.
Compared with the same period last year, the number of patients has increased about 2.5 times, while the number of deaths nearly tripled from three.
The growth in heat-related illness cases has accelerated as the nationwide average high temperature has remained above 31 degrees Celsius since late June.
On Tuesday alone, 238 people visited emergency rooms due to heat-related illnesses, which was the first time since 2018 that the daily number of heat-related patients exceeded 200, Yonhap news agency reported.
“Farmers, fishermen and outdoor workers, in particular, should avoid prolonged activity in high temperatures, stay well-hydrated and take adequate rest,” the KDCA said.
According to the agency data, most heat-related illness cases, or 81.1 per cent, occurred outdoors, and people aged 65 and older accounted for 36.6 per cent of total cases.
Earlier on July 9, more than 1,000 cases of patients suffering heat-related illnesses had been reported to date this summer as a heat wave hit the country.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) had identified 1,228 such patients as of Tuesday, which is well over twofold of the corresponding tally for the same period last year.
The KDCA began tracking the number of heat-related patients on May 15.
The country has rarely seen the daily figure of such patients surpass the 200 mark.
The KDCA said a cumulative 238 people have died of heat-related illnesses between 2011 and 2024.
Last Wednesday, a woman in her 80s died after she was found unconscious near a greenhouse in Jinju, 280 kilometres south of Seoul.
Another woman, also in her 80s, was found dead in a rice paddy on Jeju Island, with second-degree burns on her chest and face.
(IANS)
