Korea heat wave breaks records, dries farms and disrupts summer life nationwide

Korea's record-breaking heat wave is disrupting daily life across the country, from mounting heat-related illnesses and drought-stricken farms to livestock deaths, altered vacation plans and scaled-back summer festivals.

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Sunday said South Gyeongsang recorded 161 heat-related illness patients between May 15 and Friday, surpassing Seoul's 158 cases. South Gyeongsang's population is roughly a third of Seoul's.

Yangsan, a city in South Gyeongsang, recorded  42.5 degrees Celsius (108.5 degrees Fahrenheit) at 1:26 p.m on Sunday, the highest temperature ever officially recorded in Korea, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. 

Outside Seoul and South Gyeongsang, a hiker in Bonghwa County, North Gyeongsang, collapsed from heat while climbing Mount Cheongnyang on Sunday. He was transported to the hospital in an unresponsive state.

In Busan, a man in his 20s with an underlying condition died of a heat-related illness on Thursday. "It is unusual for someone in their 20s to die from a heat-related illness," said a KDCA official. 

South Chungcheong recorded 10 heat-related illness patients on Saturday. Seven were taken to hospitals in South Jeolla.

Nationwide, 1,781 heat-related illness patients were recorded between May 15 and Friday, including 13 deaths.

Reservoirs dry up, crops wilt 

In South Gyeongsang, the combination of extreme heat and drought is creating a real shortage of agricultural water. The average water level at the province's agricultural reservoirs fell from 52.9 percent in early July to 41.7 percent within a single month — about half the normal level of 72 percent.

Miryang and Yangsan cities and Uiryeong County have entered the "alert" stage for agricultural water drought — the third highest of the four-tier warning system. Reservoir levels in many other areas in South Gyeongsang, including Changwon, Jinju and Gimhae cities and Changnyeong and Hadong counties, have also fallen below 40 percent. Miryang's Baegan Reservoir has dropped to a 1.1 percent water level and its Geumpo Reservoir to 2 percent, effectively losing their ability to supply agricultural water.

"The sunlight is so intense, but there's no water, so the fertilizer isn't dissolving and the rice can't properly absorb nutrients," said a farmer in South Gyeongsang. "At this rate, the harvest will drop significantly."

Fish, livestock suffer too

As water temperatures along the south coast rise more than 1 degree Celsius above normal, 14,000 farmed mullet have died this summer in Hadong County. In Gwangju, eight flatfish farms lost 98,000 olive flounder, causing 423 million won ($293,000) in damage.

Livestock losses are also mounting quickly. A total of 7,243 pigs and 74,318 chickens had died of the heat as of Friday, according to North Gyeongsang's government on Sunday. In South Chungcheong, 30,242 animals died, including 3,871 pigs and 26,371 poultry. In North Chungcheong, 32,052 animals — including chickens, ducks and pigs — died from the heat.

In Gwangju, losses reached 55,061 animals in total, including 43,396 chickens, 7,737 ducks and 3,928 pigs, with damages estimated at 844 million won. Losses have been concentrated among chickens, ducks and pigs, which struggle to regulate their body temperature.

Canceled vacations, changed plans to stay cooler 

With peak vacation season underway, outdoor tourist sites in city centers saw sharply fewer visitors than a typical weekend.

Busan's Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches drew large crowds of vacationers, but many couldn't stay long on the scorching sand, spending most of their time in the water before heading back to their lodging. "I thought it would be a bit cooler since it's Busan, but the sand was so hot it was hard to even stand on it," said Busan vacationer from Seoul Kim Jeong-woo. "We played in the water with my family for about an hour and then went back to our lodging."

Some have turned to indoor spaces with air conditioning. In Ulsan, families seeking relief from the heat crowded the Taehwagang Donggulpia — a former wartime munitions cave now converted into a tourist attraction — and the city's art museum.

The heat wave has also reshaped summer festivals. South Gyeongsang has instructed cities and counties to adjust event hours or scale back and modify programs based on temperature when hosting festivals. Goseong County has installed shade netting across its festival grounds and placed large fans and water coolers throughout the site. Miryang plans to adjust afternoon programming during its "Super Festival," set to run Friday to next Sunday,  if daytime temperatures exceed 36 degrees Celsius. "Hapcheon Ghost Park Masquerade," running through Aug. 16, is planned to run only from evening into night. "Miryang Summer Performing Arts Festival," which concluded Saturday, had held outdoor performances until last year, but this year most performances have been moved indoors.

Local governments are also stepping up countermeasures. South Gyeongsang's provincial office plans to expand its network of cooling centers and rest shelters for mobile workers, and to provide emergency cooling-cost support to designated cooling centers using disaster relief funds.

Daegu is operating "mobile summer shelter buses" that travel to traditional markets, parks and other places residents frequently visit. The buses offer air-conditioned rest areas and cold water, and are slated to run daily without holidays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sept. 16.

North Gyeongsang provincial office is stepping up on-site heat response inspections and intensively promoting damage-prevention guidelines by livestock type to minimize losses. The province is also investing 16.5 billion won in heat-damage prevention projects, including subsidies for livestock disaster insurance premiums, installation of cooling systems in barns, support for emergency generators, supply of immune-boosting feed additives, support for fog-misting systems and fans, and insulation work for livestock barns.

BY SPECIAL REPORTING TEAM [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]