Cumulative Heat-Related Deaths Reach 23... Over Half Aged 80 and Older

[Anchor]

The death toll from heat-related illnesses this summer has reached 23. Among them, 13 were elderly individuals aged 80 and older.

Reporter Han Sung-hee has the details.

[Reporter]

A jjokbangchon (impoverished boarding house district) in Jongno-gu, Seoul.

The 2-pyeong (approx. 6.6-square-meter) room where 65-year-old Kim Gindo lives has no air conditioner.

[Kim Gindo / Jongno-gu, Seoul: (Sweat keeps forming just by sitting here.) Yes. The room temperature is quite high right now, too.]

His body temperature was measured.

[It reads 37.1°C (99°F).]

Even an electric fan is of no use.

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

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

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

Not only outdoors, but staying in hot indoor spaces like this can also lead to heat-related illnesses such as heatstroke or heat exhaustion.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's analysis of this year's heat-related illness patients, patients in their 60s like Mr. Kim numbered 485, accounting for the largest share at 18 percent of the total 2,665 patients.

The number of deaths in their 60s is two.

Let us look at those aged 80 and older.

Patients aged 80 and older numbered 329, accounting for 12.3 percent of the total, but deaths among them exceeded half, numbering 13 out of 23.

Naturally, the older the age, the lower the body's ability to regulate temperature, making heat-related illnesses even more dangerous.

For those aged 80 and older, heat-related illnesses occurred most frequently while working in fields, but cases occurring at home also reached 18.5 percent.

[Ahn Yun-jin / Director of Climate Health and Health Hazards Preparedness Division, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency: We could see that the risk of heat-related illnesses is high indoors as well. Special care and effort are needed to keep indoor spaces cool.]

Keeping a close eye on elderly individuals who live alone or have limited mobility to ensure they drink water frequently and use cooling devices can be of great help.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)

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