[Anchor]

The persistent heatwave is continuing to claim lives. Over the past two days—yesterday (August 4) and the day before—five people died in rural areas alone. With many elderly farmers collapsing while working alone, extreme caution is required.

Reporter Hong Seung-yeon has the story.

[Reporter]

Yellow police lines are cordoning off a pepper field.

The day before yesterday afternoon, a woman in her 70s was found dead while working in her field.

The daytime temperature at the time exceeded 35°C (95°F).

[Nearby Resident: She wasn't coming back, so we went out to the field to look for her and found her there. She probably died while working in that scorching heat.]

Black plastic mulch used to protect crops absorbs heat directly, making the surface of the soil even hotter than the air.

Past 3:00 PM, the air temperature has risen to 36°C (97°F).

Measuring the ground temperature of the field shows 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 fields and paddies this year, resulting in 6 deaths.

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

Drones have even been mobilized to recommend halting work during broad daylight.

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

However, farmers facing the harvest season find it difficult to put down their tools.

[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 harvest timing for these, they rot and just go to waste...]

Experts urge the implementation of measures reflecting the reality of rural areas with many elderly residents.

[Jung Soon-dul / Professor of Social Welfare, Ewha Womans University: This can be seen as a disaster caused by new climate change. Elderly people might have lower physical sensitivity to it. There is a need to send customized text messages or build systems to respond to this.]

With approximately 17% of heat-related illness patients occurring during farming activities over the past three years, the Rural Development Administration emphasized that people should refrain from working during peak daytime hours as much as possible, and immediately stop working and rest if symptoms such as headaches or dizziness appear.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Reported by Kim Min-chul | Video by Kim Jong-tae)