As Seoul swelters through record heat, the city turns streets, shelters and shower trucks into relief

Seoul's record-breaking heat has transformed the city into a giant cooling operation. Water trucks patrol major roads, cooling systems spray overheated pavement, and shelters open their doors to anyone needing a break from the relentless heat.

A pair of water trucks, each carrying a 12-ton tank, rolled slowly along Sejong-daero outside Seoul Plaza in central Seoul at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Wide fans of water sprayed from nozzles mounted beneath the front of the trucks, cooling the sun-scorched asphalt as temperatures climbed to nearly 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit)

City officials said water spraying has been stepped up as record-breaking heat continues to grip Seoul. More than 200 water trucks covered about 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) across the capital on Tuesday alone.

"We are carrying out the largest water-spraying operation in the city's history," a Seoul Metropolitan Government official said.

Nearby, Gwanghwamun Square's cooling road system sprayed water onto the pavement through nozzles installed along the road to lower surface temperatures.

Cooling road systems have been installed along 5.67 kilometers of roads at 19 locations, including the stretch between City Hall Station and Sungnyemun Gate in Jung District, central Seoul.

The road sprinklers began operating as many as nine times a day at one-hour intervals, after Seoul issued its first highest-level heat wave warning on Tuesday. Each operation uses between two and seven tons of water, depending on the length of the road section. The water primarily comes from the municipal water supply and runoff collected from subway stations.

Thermal imaging cameras showed road surface temperatures near the cooling roads at about 36 to 37 degrees Celsius, more than 10 degrees lower than nearby untreated roads, where shimmering heat pushed pavement temperatures to around 50 degrees Celsius.

"Operating the cooling roads typically lowers asphalt roads’ surface temperatures by 7 to 11 degrees Celsius," Park Wan-song, head of Seoul's Road Management Division, said. "We have mainly installed them on roads with six or more lanes near busy subway stations."

A much cooler scene unfolded inside a heat shelter at Seodaemun Youth Center, Seodaemun District, western Seoul later that afternoon.

The indoor temperature remained cool at about 24 degrees Celsius, and refrigerators were stocked with bottled water and ice. Teenagers gathered around tables to study or chat, while helping themselves to bottled water whenever they became thirsty.

Visitors in their 60s stopped by after using the center's swimming pool to pick up bottled water before heading home. About 50 people reportedly use the cooling shelter each day.

"You start to feel guilty if you stay at a cafe for two hours, but here I can relax without worrying, so I come often," a high school student said.

A city-run shelter for delivery riders and other gig workers in Mapo District, western Seoul, offered another refuge from the heat. Six food delivery riders, fresh off the lunch rush, sat chatting quietly as they cooled down. Sweat trickled through their hair after they took off their helmets. One delivery rider pulled off a pair of fingerless gloves to reveal hands with only the fingers tanned bronze by the sun.

"It's so hot I don't even have the energy to talk," another delivery worker said.

The shelter opens at 9 a.m. and remains open until 6 a.m. the following day. It is equipped with two massage chairs, a kitchenette and a station distributing cooling towels. Delivery riders who rely on smartphones for work can also freely use phone chargers and phone stands. Subway parcel couriers, food delivery riders and designated drivers account for roughly 120 visitors a day. The center said monthly attendance increased by about 1,000 people from a year earlier as Seoul's summer heat intensified.

The city's support also extends to its homeless population.

A mobile shower truck operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s homelessness support center was parked outside Exit 3 of Euljiro 1-ga Station in Jung District on Wednesday.

An unhoused man left the shower truck freshly showered, packed his laundry into a plastic bag and grabbed an iced coffee before leaving. The vehicle is equipped with showers, soap, towels and mirrors. The truck also provides its users with clean underwear and socks. A kettle of hot water sat outside the truck for anyone wanting instant noodles.

The mobile shower truck operates on weekdays. It spends four days a week in the Euljiro neighborhood in Jung District and one day in the Dongdaemun area in Jung District. Two additional shower trucks serve other parts of the city.

"The trucks provide homeless people with a place to wash during the extreme heat, when many have nowhere else to go," Kim Young-taek, head of counseling at the city’s unhoused support center, said. "We used to serve about 10 people a day during the monsoon season, but that number has recently increased to 14 or 15 as the heat wave has intensified."

The service received positive feedback from its users.

"I come every day,” an unhoused man who uses the service said. “I usually stay inside a subway station in the Dongdaemun area, then come to Euljiro on time [for the shower truck.] I can't tell you how grateful I am. This truck is like an angel to us."

BY KIM MIN-WOOK [lee.jiwon10@joongang.co.kr]