Nineteen people have died from heat-related illnesses in South Korea since May 15, as several regions of the country swelter under extreme temperatures, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.
The agency said Tuesday that a total of 2,021 people had suffered heat-related illnesses between May 15 and August 3, with 19 of those cases proving fatal.
President Lee Jae-myung called on authorities to step up support for people affected by the prolonged heatwave, describing it as a national disaster. He said the very high temperatures were behind the 19 deaths recorded in the country.
Cabinet meeting and disaster planning
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Lee ordered officials to take the necessary steps to protect citizens' daily lives and to inspect the country's electricity systems as demand for air conditioning rises.
Lee said an even bigger concern was that the unusual weather conditions made it very likely that extreme weather would continue for a long period. He called for the country's disaster response system to be redesigned to manage the dangerous conditions.
Authorities urged residents to stay indoors where possible and to drink plenty of water. Seoul has designated about 4,000 public air-conditioned facilities as cooling centers, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Record temperatures
The national high-temperature record was broken three times over the past week. It reached 42.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday in Yangsan, in southeastern Korea near the major port city of Busan, the highest temperature recorded in 122 years of weather observations.
The capital, Seoul, has been placed on the highest alert level because of the severe heatwave, with the mercury there expected to reach 40 degrees Celsius.
Seoul has about 9.6 million residents, while its wider metropolitan area is home to more than 25 million people, roughly half of South Korea's population.
