남부 폭염 비상...'생명 위협'하는 폭염중대경보 / YTN

■ Host: Anchor Jung Jin-hyung ■ Guest: Kim Seung-bae, Head of the Korea Disaster Association The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content. Please refer to the broadcast for more accurate information. When citing, please specify [YTN24]. [Anchor] With additional severe heatwave warnings issued for the Yeongnam region today, the sweltering heat is on high alert. This heatwave, which began in earnest after the end of the rainy season, struck the southern regions first. We will now take a closer look at this with Kim Seung-bae, Head of the Korea Disaster Association. Good morning, Mr. Kim. This morning, eight additional heatwave warnings were issued in the Yeongnam region, expanding the total to over ten locations across the Yeongnam and Honam regions. The severe heatwave warning is frequently mentioned in the news, but I imagine there are still many people who are unfamiliar with it. Could you briefly explain what it is? [Kim Seung-bae] It is being introduced for the first time starting this year. As heatwaves have intensified every summer, the heat advisories previously issued by the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) were divided into heat advisories and heat warnings. While those warnings essentially said, "The heat is getting worse, please be careful," the Severe Heatwave Warning is no longer just a matter of caution; it is a life-threatening situation. It is a powerful message saying, "Stop outdoor activities." The standard is when the thermometer shows 39 degrees—and the temperature our bodies feel, which varies depending on humidity—is 38 degrees or higher. It is issued immediately, not for more than two days, and this is what the Severe Heatwave Warning is. It began this summer. [Anchor] As you just mentioned, Director, and the KMA also used this expression. They explained that a Severe Heatwave Warning is heat severe enough to threaten life. But specifically, just how dangerous is this hot weather? [Kim Seung-bae] If our body temperature is 36.5 degrees but goes above 37 degrees—meaning we lose the ability to regulate our body temperature because heat cannot escape—and the perceived temperature becomes 38 degrees. So, it increasingly manifests as heat exhaustion and heatstroke. When symptoms of heatstroke appear, body temperature rises above 40 degrees, progressing to a situation requiring emergency medical attention, accompanied by dizziness, cramps, and vomiting. Therefore, when a severe heatwave warning is issued, you must immediately stop outdoor activities and focus on saving your life. In 2003, over 70,000 people died in Europe due to a heatwave. Because heatwaves are such silent killers, a severe heatwave warning is a message warning that your life is now at risk. [Anchor] The Korea Meteorological Administration advises against going outside and recommends immediately halting outdoor activities; we should follow this exactly, right? [Kim Seung-bae] That is correct. Therefore, outdoor work at industrial sites must be stopped immediately. For the general public, especially those in rural areas, when a severe heatwave warning is issued, it is not a temperature that can be endured simply because one is healthy. It is a weather alert warning that the heatwave is extremely dangerous, even for healthy people. [Anchor] I hope our viewers understand that when a severe heat wave warning is issued, you must stop what you are doing outdoors and rest immediately. However, I hear the heat is particularly severe in the Yeongnam region, with temperatures exceeding 37 degrees Celsius since this morning. If we look into the reason, I wonder if it might be because there was little rain during this rainy season. [Kim Seung-bae] That is correct. In the East Coast and Gyeongnam regions, including Uljin, Gyeongju, Ulsan, and Busan, areas that received heavy rainfall during this rainy season received around 500mm. However, this region only received about 20 to 50mm of rain. As you can see in that graph, the rainfall was very low, and the soil in this area has a lower moisture content than in other regions. Then, if the ground is wet, when exposed to strong sunlight, it tries to evaporate it... (omitted) YTN Lee Kang-moon ([email protected]) ▶ Original Article : https://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0108_202607... ▶ Send a Tip : https://mj.ytn.co.kr/mj/mj_write.php ▣ Subscribe to YTN YouTube Channel : http://goo.gl/Ytb5SZ ⓒ YTN Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use of AI data are prohibited