Daegu City Center Temperatures Soar Past 40°C: "It's Like a Steaming Oven"

[Anchor]

The suffocating heat wave is causing a surge in heat-related illnesses. Yesterday, July 13, daytime temperatures in Daegu reached nearly 38°C (100°F), and our reporting team went to the scene to see it for themselves.

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 sluggishly, the temperature reads a staggering 38.9°C (102°F).

Even though an ice machine was installed to prepare for the heat, it is of little use in this kind of scorching weather.

[Kim Sam-seok / On-site Worker: (Do you not feel dizzy or anything like that? Working in this kind of weather...) It is like that when it is very hot. When it is hot, we take salt tablets and work.]

The temperature currently observed by the Korea Meteorological Administration in Daegu is hovering around 34°C (93°F).

However, the thermometer here in the city center has exceeded 42°C (108°F).

Ice cubes placed on the ground melt in less than a minute.

Citizens have gathered in the underground shopping mall to escape the heat.

The heat outside was so intense that people are still fanning themselves even here.

[Min Byeong-gwon / Dalseong-gun, Daegu: Oh my, it is like a steaming oven at home. Even if you turn on the air conditioner, there is the issue of electricity bills, so you cannot keep it on for long.]

Based on Automatic Weather System data, the daytime temperature in Sinam, Daegu, climbed to 37.7°C (100°F), marking the highest in the nation. 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).

A total of 25 people have suffered from heat-related illnesses in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions over the three days since the heat wave advisory was issued on July 10.

Authorities are on high alert due to this disaster-level heat wave that has arrived even before Chobok (the first of the three dog days of summer).

(Video by Kim Young-sang, TBC)

TBC Park Ga-young
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.