If you're in Korea, be careful out there today in the heat.
We're going to be in the upper 30s again across most of the country.
The same goes for this weekend, and still no rain in the forecast.
As our Won Jung-hwan reports, this heatwave has proven extremely dangerous.
It looks like it's going to stay extremely hot in Seoul and other parts of the country. Heatwave warnings are in effect across almost the entire nation.
In Seoul on Thursday it hit 37-point-5 Celsius,... down 2-point-1 degrees from the record-breaking day before when it soared to its highest in 111 years.
Forecasters say the temperature dipped because of more clouds in the sky, which reduced the amount of sunshine.
According to meteorologists,… high atmospheric pressure from Tibet and prolonged dryness have contributed to the extremely hot weather. And warm, dry air blown down from the eastern Taebaek Mountains has pushed up temperatures in the western and inland region, including the capital.
The nights aren't much cooler either, with some parts of the country experiencing 'super tropical nights',… where the temperature stays above 30 degrees Celsius all night.
There were several incidents caused by the heatwave.
In one incident, a KTX train travelling from Haengsin station on Wednesday afternoon was without air conditioning for over an hour after the system stopped working in 10 train carriages.
"The crowd all gathered in some carriage where the air conditioning was working, but to be honest, it was like a train carrying refugees, children crying and screaming."
According to data from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,… more than 2,200 people have been hospitalized with heatstroke or heat exhaustion, and 28 people have died from heat-related illnesses since mid-May.
The heatwave hit after the rainy season ended on July 11th,... and it's forecast to continue through early August.
The number of people suffering from heat-related health conditions is expected to skyrocket this year to well over 20-thousand.
Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News.
