Heatwaves kill six, sicken 1,000 in South Korea
hundreds of livestock have also been affected since May
By Jung Min-ho
The scorching heatwaves that have engulfed South Korea over the past two months, have killed six people, according to the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
In addition more than 1,000 people became ill between May 29 and Aug. 3 because of the high temperatures, which have hovered around 35 degrees Celsius nationwide.
The latest victim was a 78-year-old man, who was found dead Saturday at his house on Jindo, South Jeolla Province. Given that no external injuries were found on his body, police believe the most likely cause of death was the high temperature, which reached 34.8 degrees Celsius at one point in the area that day.
On the same day, a 91-year-old woman died — also possibly from a heat stroke — at her chilli pepper farm in the same city.
A young man was also a victim. On Wednesday, a 26-year-old Russian worker suffered from sunstroke and passed out at a construction site in Sejong. He was immediately taken to a nearby hospital, but died despite emergency treatment.
Last year, 16 people died from the summer heat in the country. The number was the highest since the KCDC started to collect such data in 2011.
Hundreds of thousands of livestock have also been affected. In North Jeolla Province alone, more than 470,000 chickens, 1,500 pigs and 6,000 ducks have so far died from the effects of the heat. In South Chungcheong Province, more than 300,000 chickens have also died.
