[Anchor]

Today (August 2) marked the hottest day in South Korea's history, with temperatures exceeding 42°C (108°F) for the first time. Yangsan in Gyeongsangnam-do recorded a scorching 42.5°C (108.5°F). This is an unprecedented event in the 122-year history of modern weather observations in the country. The extreme heat wave has now developed into a drought, with reservoirs slowly drying up across various parts of the Yeongnam region.

First, let's hear from reporter Park Seyong.

[Reporter]

At 1:26 PM today, the temperature in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, hit 42.5°C (108.5°F).

This marks the first time a temperature in the 42°C range has been recorded since South Korea began modern meteorological observations in 1904—122 years ago.

This is the highest temperature ever recorded, not only across the country's 97 climate observation stations but also including records from approximately 550 automatic weather observation systems.

For Yangsan, this is already the fifth consecutive day temperatures have surpassed 40°C (104°F).

The severe heat wave warning has continued for nine days, making the highest level of alert a daily reality.

Today, temperatures exceeded 40°C (104°F) at 15 locations, primarily in the Yeongnam region, including Changwon, Gimhae, Miryang, and Busan.

With exceptionally little rain during the last monsoon season followed by the relentless heat wave, the water level at Unmun Dam in Cheongdo, Gyeongsangbuk-do—which supplies water to Daegu—has plunged to the 27% range.

This corresponds to the "severe" stage, the highest level on the drought alert scale.

An old bus route, a bridge from the Japanese colonial period, and village sites that were submerged 41 years ago due to the construction of Unmun Dam have completely revealed themselves.

The average reservoir water level in the Miryang area, including Waji Reservoir, has also dropped to the 30% range.

Some reservoirs have plummeted to the 1% range, rendering them practically dried up.

The government upgraded the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for the heat wave to Level 2 as of 1:00 PM today.

[Yun Ho-jung / Minister of the Interior and Safety : When water dries up like this, do you draw water from other reservoirs nearby, or is there not much capacity for that? (Yes, because the average water level across all reservoirs is currently in the 30% range...)]

The daytime heat failed to subside at night, resulting in an ultra-tropical night in Gangneung where overnight lows did not drop below 30°C (86°F) for the second consecutive day.

The number of heat-related illness patients increased by 96 in just a single day yesterday, bringing the total to 1,889, with 14 deaths reported.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of patients stands at about 62%, but fatalities are proportionally higher at 74%.

(Photo: TBC / Reporting by Kim Do-yun, Video Editing: Jeon Min-gyu, Design: Choi Jae-young)