▲ People play at a water park in Gyeongsan, about 250 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as a severe heat wave warning is in effect for the city on July 26, 2026. (Yonhap)

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DAEGU, July 26 (Yonhap) -- The weather agency on Sunday issued grave heat wave warnings for Daegu and other southeastern parts of South Korea as temperatures climbed well above 30 C.

The highest-level heat warnings took effect for southwestern parts of Daegu, and the nearby city of Gyeongsan and the county of Cheongdo at 11 a.m., according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The southeastern cities of Pohang and Gyeongju had already been placed under the highest-level heat warnings earlier in the day.

As of 1 p.m., temperatures had reached 38.4 C in Gyeongju, 35.4 C in Daegu and 32.1 C in Pohang.

The KMA said as of 3:10 p.m., the maximum apparent temperatures for Gwangyang and Yangsan had risen to 38.3 C.

It marked the latest issuance of the highest heat warnings since the weather agency adopted a new heat warning system on June 1 to alert the public to extreme heat.

A highest-level heat warning is issued when the daily high is forecast to reach 39 C or higher in areas where the apparent temperature has reached 35 C or higher for at least two consecutive days.

South Korea issued its first highest-level heat warnings for Gyeongsan and Pohang on July 12.

On Monday, the morning lows across the country are expected to reach 22-26 C, and daytime highs are forecast to range between 28 and 37 C.

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