South Korea Issues Highest-Level Heatwave Warning for Gyeongsan and Pohang

South Korea announced on Sunday a new highest-level warning for an intense heatwave affecting the southeastern cities of Gyeongsan and Pohang.

Officials stated that the elevated heatwave alerts took effect at 10:00 a.m. in both cities after temperatures climbed to 39.9 degrees Celsius in Gyeongsan and 37.2 degrees Celsius in Pohang the previous day.

This marks the first issuance of such severe heatwave warnings in Gyeongsan and Pohang since the government implemented a new heat alert system on June 1 designed to notify the public about extreme heat conditions.

Temperatures are forecast to again reach 39 degrees Celsius in both cities on Sunday.

Under the new warning system, a severe heatwave alert is issued when the daily maximum temperature is expected to hit 39 degrees Celsius in areas where the apparent temperature has been 35 degrees Celsius or higher for at least two consecutive days.