People, animals seek shade amid grueling early summer heat wave

Social Affairs

Published: 12 Jun. 2024, 18:09 Updated: 12 Jun. 2024, 19:19

People, animals seek shade amid grueling early summer heat wave

Cattle get doused with water to prevent heat exhaustion on Wednesday in Gwangju. [NEWS1]

People and animals sweltered in a heat wave Wednesday, with daytime highs surpassing 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in the eastern province of Gangwon.

Gangwon’s Jeongseon County recorded a high temperature of 35.9 degrees Celsius, while the neighboring coastal city of Gangneung recorded a high of 35.3 degrees Celsius.

In Gangneung, so-called tropical nights have continued for two days, with nighttime lows remaining 25 degrees Celsius or higher from Monday night to Wednesday morning.

The Korea Meteorological Administration issued a heat wave advisory at 10 a.m. on Wednesday for the Gyeonggi, South Jeolla, Gwangju, Daegu, Ulsan and Gyeongsang areas.

Some parts of the southeastern Gyeongsang region received weather alerts, with daytime highs in the affected regions ranging between 32 and 35 degrees Celsius. Southern areas of Gyeonggi — subject to a heat wave alert — saw highs of between 30 and 32 degrees Celsius.

Gwangju’s temperatures peaked at 32.9 degrees Celsius, and South Jeolla’s daytime high hit 31.2 degrees Celsius.

A heat wave alert has been in effect for three consecutive days in much of the Gyeongsang region, including Daegu, Ulsan, North Gyeongsang and South Gyeongsang.

Such an advisory is issued when the “sensible temperature,” or the temperature the human body feels, is 33 degrees Celsius or higher.

Although actual temperatures in Gangwon were higher than in areas where heat wave advisories were issued, sensible temperatures in Gangwon were projected to be 31 degrees Celsius or below.

Temperatures in the nation’s capital peaked at 31.8 degrees Celsius.

The sizzling heat also affected animals, with many appearing unusually lethargic.

A brown bear cools off in a pond at an outdoor enclosure in Dalseong Park in Daegu on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

According to a report from the JoongAng Ilbo on Wednesday, animals in Daegu’s Dalseong Park tried their best to beat the early summer heat.

Daegu, a city in the Gyeongsang area, is notoriously hot in summer. The city saw a daytime high of 33.8 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, according to the weather agency.

Animals from tropical regions, such as zebras, avoided the sunlight and found shelter in the shade. The park’s Ezo brown bear spent time splashing around in the small pond inside its enclosure.

“Zookeepers installed sunshades and a water pond because of the arrival of the heat wave,” an official from the facility said. "The park will feed frozen snacks to the animals in July when scorching heat waves usually arrive.”

A person covers their face and upper torso with a sun shade while lying on a bench in central Seoul on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

The heat also prompted people to find cooler areas. Meet and greet areas inside subway stations are favored by older adults.

A man in his 70s surnamed Chung said one such area “was good to escape the heat.” He added that the place was “good for conversing with friends who come to take a rest avoiding the sunlight.”

Another older adult said he was willing to “visit the station more frequently this summer,” complaining that he barely slept the night before due to the heat.

The country’s weather agency forecast that the heat wave would last until Thursday, with Thursday's morning lows between 16 and 24 degrees Celsius and daytime highs between 26 and 35 degrees Celsius nationwide.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG, HAN YOUNG-HYE [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]