Cumulative Heat-Related Deaths Reach 23, With Over Half In The Elderly Aged 80 And Older

[Anchor]

Another person died from a heat-related illness yesterday (August 5), bringing this year's cumulative death toll to 23. Notably, more than half of the deceased are elderly individuals aged 80 and older. People are strongly advised to follow heat illness prevention guidelines not only during outdoor activities but also indoors.

Reporter Han Sung-hee has the details.

[Reporter]

Around noon today in a jjokbangchon (impoverished boarding house district) in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

There is no air conditioner in the 6-pyeong (approx. 6.6-square-meter) room where 65-year-old Kim Gin-do lives.

[Kim Gin-do / Jongno-gu, Seoul: (I'm starting to sweat just sitting here.) Yes. The temperature in the room is quite high right now.]

His body temperature was measured.

[(It reads 37.1°C (99°F).)]

Even electric fans are of no use.

[Kim Gin-do / Jongno-gu, Seoul: (Why did you turn it off now?) It just blows hot air.]

However, going outside is out of the question, so he spends most of his time in his room.

[Kim Gin-do / Jongno-gu, Seoul: I just stay in the room. If I go outside for a bit, I get dizzy, so I rush right back inside. I have no appetite because the weather is so hot.]

As seen here, staying in hot indoor spaces—not just outdoors—can lead to heat-related illnesses such as heatstroke and heat exhaustion.

According to an analysis of this year's heat illness patients by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), patients in their 60s, like Mr. Kim, numbered 485, accounting for 18% of the total 2,665 patients, the largest share.

There have been 2 deaths among people in their 60s.

Let us look at those aged 80 and older.

Heat illness patients aged 80 and older numbered 329, accounting for 12.3% of the total, but they account for more than half of the deaths—13 out of 23.

For older adults whose thermoregulation abilities are diminished, heat-related illnesses are inevitably more dangerous.

Among those aged 80 and older, heat illnesses occurred most frequently while working in fields or rice paddies, but heat illness patients occurring at home also reached 18.5%.

[Ahn Yoon-jin / Director, Climate Health and Health Hazards Response Division, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency: This shows that the risk of heat-related illness is high even indoors. Special care and efforts are needed to keep indoor spaces cool.]

Checking in on elderly people who live alone or have limited mobility to ensure they drink water frequently and use cooling appliances can be of great help.

(Video by Kim Se-kyung | Video Editing by Park Choon-bae | Design by Park Tae-young)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.