Korea ‘broke’ its 122-year record of heatwave, WHO issued a global survival warning

South Korea has just recorded its highest temperature since data collection began more than a century ago, as authorities warned people to “immediately” stop all outdoor activities in affected areas.

Yangsan City, South Gyeongsang Province, is currently the focus of a prolonged heat wave. As of 6:00 p.m. on August 2, the daytime temperature in Yangsan soared to 42.5 degrees Celsius, breaking the record of 41.6 degrees Celsius set just one day before. This is the first time in 122 years that the highest temperature recorded in domestic monitoring history exceeded 42 degrees Celsius.

Extremely severe heat warnings have been issued on a large scale in the Jeolla and Gyeongsang areas, while actual felt temperatures in most localities across the country have also increased to about 35 degrees Celsius.

According to the Korea Meteorological Agency (KMA), the lowest temperature in the morning of the same day ranged from 21 to 27 degrees Celsius and the highest daytime temperature reached from 32 to 39 degrees Celsius, significantly higher than the average for many years. Many localities in North Gyeongsang and South Gyeongsang provinces also recorded heat levels exceeding historical records such as Gyeongju (40.3 degrees Celsius), Gimhae (40.7 degrees Celsius) and Miryang (41.0 degrees Celsius).

In this context, WHO on July 31 issued specific action recommendations to protect health in extreme weather conditions, from limiting outdoor activities, drinking enough water to proactively monitoring and caring for vulnerable groups.

Intense heat not only causes simple inconvenience in daily life but has become a serious health threat, can cause exhaustion, heat stroke, and aggravate chronic cardiovascular, respiratory and kidney diseases. WHO emphasizes that the elderly, infants, pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions are especially sensitive to heat and need special care.

The UN health agency’s response guidelines focus on four main groups of solutions. First of all, proactively avoiding heat is considered a top priority. During the hottest rush hours, people should minimize going out and do intense physical activities. If you must move outdoors, you need to make full use of the shade. The reason is that the perceived temperature under direct sunlight can be 10 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than the actual temperature. Each person should spend 2-3 hours a day in a cool place, and be careful not to swim alone to avoid the risk of drowning.

Besides avoiding the sun outdoors, keeping the indoor living space cool is equally important. During the day, people should use curtains or blinds to prevent direct sunlight and open ventilation doors at night when the temperature drops.

Fans can increase body temperature when the air temperature exceeds 40 degrees Celsius, so fans should only be used when the ambient temperature is below this threshold. Setting the air conditioner at 27 degrees Celsius combined with using a fan can help lower the perceived temperature by about 4 degrees Celsius, while saving up to 70% on cooling energy costs.

Along with environmental measures, directly cooling the body and maintaining adequate hydration are key. People should proactively drink water regularly before feeling thirsty, maintain a glass of water every hour and ensure the total amount of water consumed in the body reaches over 2 to 3 liters per day.

Wearing light, loose clothing, taking a moderately warm bath, and using a damp towel to wipe your body also brings a clear cooling effect. In addition, the community must not forget to periodically check and support vulnerable groups such as people aged 65 and over, people with chronic diseases and elderly people living alone.

Finally, the care and protection of infants and young children requires special care. Never leave children or pets alone in a parked car, even for a short moment. During hot sunny hours, children should be kept in the shade or indoors.

For baby strollers, use a thin layer of damp towels instead of dry towels to cover the top to prevent the temperature inside the vehicle from rising. When letting children go outside, covering them with a hat, sunglasses and applying sunscreen is a must.

Data from WHO shows that an estimated 489,000 people globally died each year from heat-related causes between 2000 and 2019. As climate change causes heat waves to appear more frequently and more intensely, it is more important than ever for everyone to proactively protect themselves.