Heatwave in South Korea kills 17

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
1 Aug 2023 21:35

According to Yonhap News, many of those who lost their lives were outdoor workers like farmers and elderly people.

A visitor walks through a water mist to cool herself off at the Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 23, 2018. (AP)

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and fire authorities announced Monday that 17 lives have been lost due to an ongoing extreme heatwave across the weekend.

According to Yonhap News, the majority of those killed were farmers and elderly people working outside in the intense heat.

South Korea has been in the grip of sweltering heat since the season's first heat wave advisories were issued in mid-June, with recent highs in several regions of the nation reaching about 35 degrees Celsius.

The province of North Gyeongsang was the most impacted, with seven elderly farmers dead.

Mungyeong, Gimcheon, Sangju, and Gyeongsan reported four heat-related fatalities involving older farmers working outdoors on Saturday alone.

Wildfires have also ravaged many countries spanning on almost all continents, most notably in Canada, the US, Spain, Greece and Algeria.

Greece closed the Acropolis during the hottest hours, and France's farming industry was threatened by high temperatures and drought. Spain anticipated another heatwave, and the Canary Islands and Andalusia region were warned of temperatures above 40°C.

In Japan and South Korea, torrential rains caused casualties through floods and landslides. India experienced deadly monsoon rains following scorching heat, with increased frequency and severity attributed to climate change.

According to Copernicus, early in June, the global temperatures surpassed pre-industrial temperature levels by more than 1.5C. It is worth noting that based on the 2015 Paris Agreement, 1.5C has been considered the maximum cap for global warming.

Temperature records were set in different regions across the world, leaving behind a trail of wildfires and floods from the North all the way down to the South.

The warmest summer on record in Europe resulted in 61,672 heat-related deaths, according to research that was released last week. Italy has the highest mortality rate.

A senior extreme heat advisor at the World Meteorological Organization, John Nairn, told reporters in Geneva that "These events will continue to grow in intensity, and the world needs to prepare for more intense heatwaves."

Scientists assert that global warming, linked to fossil fuel dependence, contributes to the multiplication and intensification of heat waves. The EU's climate monitoring service declared June the hottest month on record globally.