SOUTH KOREA RECORDS HIGHEST TEMPERATURE AS SEOUL ISSUES FIRST SEVERE HEAT...

South Korea has recorded its highest temperature in 122 years of observation as a deadly heatwave sweeps the country. Yangsan, an inland city in South Gyeongsang province in the southeast, reached 42.5C on Sunday. The heatwave has claimed at least 16 lives and prompted Seoul to issue its first severe heat warning in the capital's history, which took effect on Tuesday at 11am across the city of more than nine million people. Seoul was forecast to reach 38C on Tuesday, followed by three days at 37C.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, more than 2,000 people have been treated for heat-related illnesses since May. The heat has been concentrated in the southeast, where several locations exceeded 41C; Goryeong reached 41.2C on Monday and one district of Seoul recorded 39C. Forecasters attribute the conditions to overlapping areas of high pressure over the Korean peninsula combined with clear skies, whilst the foehn effect—air warming as it descends mountain ranges—intensifies heat in the southeast and is now pushing conditions westward towards Seoul. By Monday, 217 of the country's 235 land-based warning zones, or 92 per cent, were under some form of heat alert.

President Lee Jae Myung told officials on Tuesday that the government must protect lives and inspect power systems as air-conditioning demand rises. At a cabinet meeting, he stated: "We need to make efforts for a fundamental overhaul of the national crisis system, since this extreme weather is becoming normal." Seoul authorities held an emergency meeting on Monday and deployed nurses to check on up to 63,000 residents considered most at risk, including elderly people and those with disabilities or chronic illnesses. A fleet of 200 trucks is spraying water across nearly 2,000 kilometres of roads up to six times daily in the most affected areas.