Record-Breaking Heatwave Causes 3,000 Heat Illness Cases... 98 Cases Reported Yesterday Alone

Over 100 Heat Illness Patients Admitted in a Day
Total of 28 Suspected Heat Illness Deaths

As daytime temperatures nationwide continue to exceed 30 degrees Celsius, the cumulative number of heat-related illness cases this year has nearly reached 3,000. On the 20th alone, over 100 heat-related illness cases were confirmed.

According to the Heat-Related Illness Emergency Room Surveillance System of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 21st, 98 heat-related illness patients visited 507 emergency rooms nationwide on the 20th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Since the surveillance system began operating on May 20th this year, the cumulative number of patients until the previous day reached 2,994, which is 462 more than the same period last year (2,532). Notably, there have been 2 deaths, increasing the estimated number of heat-related illness deaths this year to 28.

By region, the number of heat-related illness cases on the previous day were 37 in Gyeonggi, 14 in Incheon, 11 in Seoul, 10 in Chungnam, and 4 each in Chungbuk and Gyeongbuk.

Among the cumulative heat-related illness patients this year, 77.7% were male. By age group, those in their 50s and 60s each accounted for 18.4%, followed by those in their 40s at 14.3%, 30s at 12.9%, and 70s at 12.1%. Patients aged 65 and older made up 31.6%. By location of occurrence, 31.1% of patients were at outdoor workplaces, 14.7% in fields, and 9.6% by roadsides, with 78.4% of all patients occurring outdoors.

Among heat-related illness patients, 'heat exhaustion,' also known as sunstroke, accounted for the largest proportion at 55.6%. There were also many cases of heat stroke (20.7%) and heat cramps (14.3%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.