▲ This photo, taken May 14, 2026, shows a man fanning away the heat in Seoul, when the capital's daytime temperature reached 31 C. (Yonhap)

heat wave-death toll

Earliest heat-related death on record reported amid scorching heat

SEOUL, May 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's first death from heat-related illnesses this year was reported Saturday amid an early heat wave, marking the earliest such case on record in any year, health authorities said.

A man in his 80s in Seoul was reported to have died of heat-related diseases, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said, citing its emergency room monitoring system for heat-related illnesses.

This marked the earliest heat illness-related death since the monitoring system was introduced. This year, the KDCA began launching the monitoring system across 516 emergency rooms nationwide Friday.

The earliest heat-related death was reported amid an unusually early heat wave. The nation's average high temperature reached 28.2 Celsius on Saturday and Seoul's daily high hit 31.3 C, hotter than the seasonal average.

A total of seven patients visited emergency rooms due to heat-related diseases Friday. By region, Gyeonggi Province that surrounds Seoul reported the highest number of patients with four, followed by the capital with two cases and Incheon, west of Seoul, with one.

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