Overview

• Heat wave warnings now cover 122 of 183 inland regions with sustained highs above 35°C and peak temperatures up to 37.1°C in Seoul
• The monsoon officially ended in southern provinces on July 3 allowing a heat dome to trap hot southwesterly and easterly winds over the peninsula
• Seoul’s 37.1°C reading on July 8 is the highest early-July temperature recorded since modern measurements began in 1908
• The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency logged 875 heat-related emergency visits and seven presumed heatstroke deaths through July 7, an 83.2 percent increase year-on-year
• Meteorologists forecast continued tropical nights above 25°C with no significant rainfall expected until mid-July raising concerns of prolonged heat stress