Seoul Hits Record High 37.9°C (100.2°F) This Year... Downtown Through a Thermal Camera

[Anchor]

Today (August 6), Seoul saw its daytime high soar close to 38°C (100°F), making it the hottest day of the year so far. Temperatures in Yongsan-gu approached 40°C (104°F), the highest in the country.

Reporter Bae Seong-jae took a look around downtown Seoul, which boiled all day long.

[Reporter]

Just past noon, we climbed Mount Namsan in Seoul.

Looking through a thermal imaging camera, the entire city center was glowing red like a heat island.

Checking the temperatures, most areas exceeded 40°C (104°F).

The rooftops of buildings heated by the sun surpassed a staggering 60°C (140°F).

[Lee Woo-chae / Dobong-gu, Seoul: When I went out into the city, the asphalt was heated and radiating intense heat. Coming up here, it feels nice and cool.]

[Park Jun-yong / Living Abroad: I keep using wet towels, and I don't know how many T-shirts I change into a day. This weather is honestly driving me crazy.]

We headed into the city center.

The high-rise buildings and roads in Yeouido were intensely heated.

Except for areas like Yeouido Park, surrounded by the Han River and lush trees, the entire downtown area was dyed red.

The heat radiating from the asphalt roads well exceeded 70°C (158°F).

Some vehicles could be seen suddenly breaking down and stopping in the middle of the road, unable to withstand the heat.

[(Sir, why is your car doing this?) The clutch isn't working... (Is it because of the heat?) Yes, because of the heat...]

Even the ground around fountains where water is continuously sprayed suffered from a scorching heat wave above 30°C (86°F).

The official peak temperature in Seoul recorded today in Jongno-gu was 37.9°C (100.2°F), making it the hottest day of the year.

This marks the fifth-highest record in Seoul's weather observation history.

Yongsan-gu recorded 39.9°C (103.8°F), the highest temperature in the nation today.

Seoul's Guro-gu and Geumcheon-gu also neared 39°C (102.2°F), while outside Seoul, Geumsa-myeon in Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province, recorded the highest at 39.1°C (102.4°F).

For three consecutive days, the highest-tier heat wave warning, the severe heat wave alert, has been issued for most parts of the Seoul metropolitan area.

Severe heat wave alerts were also issued for parts of the western Gangwon region, including Hoengseong and Chuncheon, as well as Jeonju and Gwangju. This marks the first time a severe heat wave alert has been issued for the Gangwon region.

The fury of the heat wave blanketing the Korean Peninsula is reaching its peak.

(Camera: Kang Dong-cheol | Video Editing: Kim Jong-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.