South Korea Grapples with Record Heat Wave, Heat-Related Illnesses and Deaths

South Korea continued to struggle with an unprecedented heat wave Monday, with many parts of the nation reporting record high temperatures and scores of people suffering from heat-related illnesses.

Temperatures reached a record high of 40.9 C in the southeastern city of Daegu, surpassing the 40 C mark for the first time since Aug. 1, 1942, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.

Goryeong County, about 230 kilometers southeast of Seoul, reported the nation's highest temperature of the day at 41.2 C at 3:37 p.m.

Severe heat wave warnings remained in effect across southwestern parts of the country, with one of the criteria for the warning being a high of at least 38 C in perceived temperature for more than a day.

The KMA said additional severe heat wave warnings will take effect at 11 a.m. Tuesday in southern Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital, as well as Jangseong and Gokseong counties in South Jeolla Province.

It would mark the first time the highest-level heat warning takes effect in the greater Seoul area since the warning system was introduced in June.

In the southeastern city of Yangsan, where temperatures reached the highest recorded temperature of 42.5 C on Sunday since modern weather observations began in 1904, temperatures peaked at 38 C.

The extreme heat has triggered health emergencies across the country.

In Incheon, west of Seoul, a man in his 40s died Monday morning with his bodily temperature nearing 40 C after being sent to a hospital the previous day.

Also on Sunday, two farmers, in their 60s and 80s, respectively, were found dead in the central province of South Chungcheong.

A total of 108 people were treated at emergency rooms across the country for heat-related illnesses Sunday, bringing the tally since May 15 to 2,025, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

The country has so far recorded 16 deaths linked to heat-related illnesses.

Seoul reported 18 heat-related patients Sunday, with the capital's total at 185 since mid-May.

The KMA attributed the prolonged high temperatures to overlapping high-pressure systems over the peninsula combined with strong, direct sunlight under clear skies.