"Maximum Temperature to Reach 37°C This Week"...Seoul Expands Support in Response to Prolonged Heatwave

Emergency Heatwave Response Meeting Convened on the 3rd: Emergency System to Be Strengthened
Progress Reviewed in 10 Key Areas Including Support for Vulnerable Groups
Improvements for Cooling Shelters... Expanded Operation of Mobile Worker Rest

As the prolonged and extreme heatwave continues, the Seoul Metropolitan Government held an emergency heatwave countermeasure meeting on the 3rd, chaired by the First Deputy Mayor for Administration, and conducted a comprehensive review of measures for citizen protection and on-site safety management.

Seoul City held an emergency heatwave countermeasure meeting on the 3rd, chaired by the First Deputy Mayor for Administration, to comprehensively review citizen protection and on-site safety management measures. Photo by Seoul City

The meeting was convened under the direction of Mayor Oh Sehoon, with the participation of the First and Second Deputy Mayors for Administration, the Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs, and heads of relevant departments in charge of disaster, welfare, health, fire, labor, construction, and environment, all related to the city's heatwave response.

During the meeting, authorities reconfirmed whether existing measures were being properly implemented in the field and decided to immediately address any inconveniences or shortcomings revealed during citizen use. They also agreed to expand necessary support measures in preparation for the continued heatwave.

The meeting focused on intensive inspection of the implementation status in ten key areas, including: the emergency response system, management of heat-related illnesses, emergency rescue and medical services, support for vulnerable populations, protection of workers at workplaces and construction sites, operation of cooling centers, support for mobile workers, and road water spraying, among others.

Since July 23, Seoul has been under ongoing heatwave advisories. This week, temperatures are expected to remain high, with a maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius and a maximum perceived temperature of 36 to 37 degrees Celsius.

As of 4 p.m. on August 2, a total of 162 people in Seoul had suffered from heat-related illnesses, with two fatalities. Of these, 129 people were affected outdoors, accounting for the majority of cases.

Seoul operates a Comprehensive Heatwave Support Center, divided into eight teams, to monitor weather and damage in real time. The city closely monitors the occurrence of heat-related illnesses and the ongoing heatwave conditions, and will immediately strengthen the emergency response system when necessary.

First, continuous welfare checkups and health management are carried out for more than 63,000 vulnerable people, including the elderly living alone, people with disabilities, and those with chronic illnesses, through home visiting nurses and similar services. Emergency relief teams and special task forces are dispatched to areas densely populated with homeless individuals and residents of makeshift dwellings, while cooling centers and night shelters continue to provide spaces for heatwave evacuation.

The Fire and Disaster Headquarters currently operates 161 heatwave emergency teams (119 Cooling Ambulances) and 119 pumper ambulances, totaling 280 units. In response to 89 suspected cases of heat-related illness this year, the teams provided hospital transfers and on-site treatments. In 12 areas vulnerable to heat, such as neighborhoods with many single-room housings, 119 Safety Camps are also in operation.

The city is also inspecting compliance with protective measures for outdoor workers. Seoul continuously checks that heat illness prevention measures—such as provision of drinking water, break times, and shaded areas—are properly implemented at city government offices and 39 affiliated agencies employing contract, subcontract, or commissioned workers.

At 56 city-commissioned construction sites, adherence to protective measures, such as staged rest periods based on heatwave advisories, switching to indoor duties during peak heat hours, and suspending outdoor work, is checked continuously; the city will immediately correct any deficiencies found.

For low-income construction workers who are unable to work due to the issuance of heatwave warnings or work stoppage orders by project supervisors, the city provides the "Construction Worker Relief Allowance," which is set at the level of the living wage for up to four hours per day, according to certain criteria.

Event workers are taking a brief rest in the shade to avoid the sunlight at Seoul Forest. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, July 28, 2026.

The city will re-examine the operational status of cooling centers and other heatwave shelters to ensure citizens can use them without inconvenience. Any items requiring improvement are to be addressed immediately by relevant local districts and departments, with confirmation of completion by the end of the day. Any additional shortcomings found on-site will also be remedied without delay.

To protect mobile workers such as delivery and courier drivers, Seoul and its local districts will expand weekend operations and increase support for cooling supplies at 30 mobile worker rest areas during the severe summer heat.

The city will supply 100,000 bottles of ice water and 20,000 cooling towels to these rest areas, and proactively provide location and usage information through Naver and Kakao map services and mobile worker community networks.

Road water spraying will also be expanded to ease the urban heat island effect. Seoul currently operates 205 water-spraying trucks along 1,982 km of major arterial and general roads. During a heatwave warning, spraying is conducted five to six times daily, focusing on areas with high pedestrian traffic.

Jung Sanghun, Acting First Deputy Mayor for Administration, said, "As the heatwave continues to intensify and lengthen, we will not be complacent with existing measures, but instead thoroughly check the on-site situations that citizens actually use and rapidly expand any necessary interventions."

He added, "The heatwave can cause serious harm not only to the vulnerable or outdoor workers, but also to healthy citizens participating in sports or events. Please ensure that all countermeasures are fully implemented in the field—not just on paper—and consistently monitored until the end."

He also stated, "We will fully mobilize all available financial resources, such as special adjustment grants and disaster management funds, to broadly identify additional support programs and proactively expand our heatwave response measures so that there are no gaps in citizen protection."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.