[Anchor]
The daytime temperature in Daegu reached 37.7°C (100°F), the highest in the nation. When our reporting team measured the temperature in downtown Daegu, it soared well past 40°C (104°F). Cases of heat-related illnesses are also emerging one after another.
TBC reporter Park Ga-young has the story.
[Reporter]
The construction site is completely empty, without a single worker in sight.
Under a tent where only an old fan spins weakly, the thermometer reads a staggering 38.9°C (102°F).
Although an ice machine was installed to prepare for the heatwave, it is of little use in such scorching weather.
[Kim Sam-seok / Construction Worker: (Doesn't it make you feel dizzy or anything, working in this weather?) It does when it's extremely hot. When it's that hot, we take salt tablets and continue working.]
The temperature currently observed by the Korea Meteorological Administration in Daegu is fluctuating around 34°C (93°F).
However, the temperature recorded on a thermometer here in the city center has surpassed 42°C (108°F).
Ice cubes placed on the ground melt in less than a minute.
Citizens have gathered in underground shopping centers to escape the heat.
The heat outside is so intense that even here, people are fanning themselves incessantly.
[Min Byeong-gwon / Dalseong-gun, Daegu: Oh, it's like a steaming pot at home. Even if you turn on the air conditioner, you can't keep it on for long because of the electricity bill.]
As of today (July 13), the daytime temperature in Sinam, Daegu, reached 37.7°C (100°F) based on automatic weather station data, marking the highest in the country. Other areas also experienced sweltering heat, with Homigot in Pohang and Hayang in Gyeongsan reaching 37.5°C (100°F), and Hwangseong in Gyeongju hitting 37°C (99°F).
Over the three days since the heatwave advisory was issued on July 10, a total of 25 people have suffered from heat-related illnesses in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions.
Authorities are on high alert due to this disaster-level heatwave that has arrived even before Chobok (the first of the three dog days of summer).
(Video by Kim Young-sang, TBC)
Reported by Park Ga-young, TBC
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