Murderous Heatwave Sends Farmland Surface Temperature Above 60°C... Drones Deployed to Warn Farmers

[Anchor]

The relentless heatwave continues to claim human lives. In particular, over the two days yesterday (August 4) and the day before, 5 people died in rural areas alone. With many elderly farmers collapsing while working alone, extreme caution is required.

This is reported by Hong Seung-yeon.

[Reporter]

Yellow police tape is cordoned off around a pepper field.

A woman in her 70s was found dead while working in the field on the afternoon of the day before yesterday.

At the time, daytime temperatures exceeded 35°C (95°F).

[Nearby Resident: She didn't come back, so we came out to the field to look for her and found her there. She must have died while working in that burning heat.]

As the black plastic used to protect crops absorbs heat directly, the soil surface is even hotter than the air.

By past 3 PM, the temperature has risen to 36°C (97°F).

Measuring the ground temperature of the field, it well exceeds 60°C (140°F).

According to official tallies by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, about 300 heat-related illness patients have occurred in paddy and dry fields this year, with 6 deaths.

Over the two days yesterday and the day before, 5 farmers lost their lives in the Chungcheong and Jeonbuk regions, and the scale of casualties is expected to grow further when including local government self-tallies.

Even drones have been mobilized to recommend stopping work in the midday sun.

[The risk of heat-related illness is very high. Farmers, please refrain from outdoor work....]

However, farmers facing imminent harvest cannot put down their work.

[Kim Nak-yoon / Dangjin, South Chungcheong Province: We have no choice, even if it's hot. The crops we worked hard to grow will all dry up.]

[Yoon Yong-san / Asan, South Chungcheong Province: We can't stop. If we miss the timing to pick these, they rot and just spoil....]

Experts call for measures reflecting the reality of rural areas with many elderly people.

[Jung Soon-du / Professor of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University: You can see this as a disaster caused by new climate change. Elderly people may have a lower perception of it. There is a need to send customized text messages or build systems to respond to it.]

With approximately 17% of heat-related illness patients over the past 3 years having occurred during farming, the Rural Development Administration emphasized to refrain from working during daytime hours as much as possible, and to immediately stop working and rest if symptoms such as headaches or dizziness appear.

(Video Reported by Kim Min-chul | Video Edited by Kim Jong-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.