health
Seoul braces for heatwave sweeping South Korea as death toll reaches 16
Trucks are dousing capital’s roads with water and nurses are checking on vulnerable people as heat heads westwards
TL;DR
- South Korea recorded its highest ever temperature of 42.5C in Yangsan on Sunday.
- The country has experienced 16 heat-related fatalities and over 2,000 illnesses since May.
- Seoul is preparing for its first 'severe heatwave warning' with temperatures expected to reach 38C on Tuesday.
- Authorities are deploying 200 trucks to spray roads with water and nurses are checking on vulnerable populations.
- The heatwave is attributed to overlapping high-pressure systems, strong sunlight, and the foehn phenomenon in some regions.
- The path of Typhoon Dolphin could potentially worsen or alleviate the heatwave conditions.