Seoul's daytime highs are expected to climb to around 33 degrees Celsius starting this week, marking the onset of a full-scale heat wave. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is strengthening its heat wave response, focusing on protecting vulnerable groups and mitigating the urban heat island effect.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 27th, the number of people who have suffered heat-related illnesses in Seoul this year stood at 122 as of the 25th. As the heat wave intensifies from this week, damage from heat-related illnesses and other effects is expected to increase. A heat wave advisory and a tropical night advisory took effect across Seoul on the same day. A heat wave advisory is issued when the daily maximum perceived temperature is expected to remain at 33 degrees or higher for two or more days, while a tropical night advisory is issued when the nighttime minimum temperature is expected to stay at 26 degrees or higher for one or more days.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon issued special instructions, saying, "Strengthen protection activities and heat-related illness prevention guidance not only for vulnerable groups such as elderly people living alone, residents of small single-room dwellings, and homeless people, but also for outdoor workers. Prepare thoroughly so that on-site measures such as operating cooling shelters, setting up shade canopies, and spraying water with sprinkler trucks can be carried out immediately when a heat wave alert takes effect."
Accordingly, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is pursuing a comprehensive heat wave plan focused on protecting vulnerable groups and building a heat wave safety net throughout citizens' living areas. First, it will strengthen tailored support for heat wave-vulnerable groups such as homeless people, residents of small single-room dwellings, and elderly people living alone. It will operate emergency relief teams and special response teams for homeless people and residents of small single-room dwellings, and provide dedicated cooling refuges and nighttime heat shelters to help them avoid the heat.
For health-vulnerable groups such as elderly people living alone, people with disabilities, and those with chronic illnesses, the city will strengthen well-being checks. When a heat wave alert takes effect, social workers and living support workers will check on approximately 50,000 vulnerable elderly people daily or every other day, and will visit in person to check their health if they cannot be reached. Households facing financial hardship will be supported through Seoul-type emergency welfare linked with energy vouchers. Seoul-type emergency welfare support amounts to 1.99 million won for a four-person household, an increase of 120,000 won from last year. Summer energy vouchers will be automatically applied to electricity bills from July to September to ease the burden of cooling costs.
The city will also strengthen protection for outdoor and mobile workers directly exposed to the heat. It will intensively inspect whether heat-related illness prevention rules are being followed at heat wave-vulnerable workplaces such as construction sites, public job program sites, and sanitation work sites. For outdoor workers, phased protection measures will be implemented according to the perceived temperature. When a heat wave advisory takes effect, adjustments to working hours and reductions in outdoor work will be recommended. When a heat wave warning is issued, outdoor work will in principle be halted between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. When a serious heat wave warning takes effect, all outdoor work except emergency measures will in principle be suspended.
For mobile workers such as delivery drivers and substitute drivers, the city will operate 30 mobile worker rest centers and extend their operating hours in July and August. It also plans to prepare for a prolonged heat wave by providing approximately 100,000 bottles of iced water and, using special grants, expanding cooling supplies for homeless people, residents of small single-room dwellings, and mobile workers, as well as operating cooling shelters and cooling fog systems.
Cooling shelters are currently operating at more than 4,000 locations, including community service centers, senior citizen centers, and welfare centers. When a heat wave alert takes effect, weekday operating hours will be extended, and the shelters will additionally open on weekends and public holidays. At 21 aboveground stations on subway lines 1 through 8, 40 "Companion Rest Areas" are being operated to help people escape the heat. For citizens who need nighttime refuge, at least one "heat wave emergency shelter" is designated and operated in each of the 25 autonomous districts.
