South Korea reports over 1,000 heat-related patients amid record high temperatures

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has identified 1,228 such patients as of Tuesday, which is well over twofold of the corresponding tally for the same period last year, according to Kazinform.

The KDCA began tracking the number of heat-related patients on May 15.

Of the 1,228 patients, seven people died presumably from heatstroke, compared with three deaths in 2024, the KDCA said.

On Tuesday alone, 238 people visited hospital emergency rooms nationwide for heat-related symptoms as the temperature in Seoul hit 37.7 C, the highest ever recorded for early July in the capital since record-keeping began in 1908.

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.

Earlier, it was reported that heat wave will get more severe in South Korea.