South Korea issued its first emergency heatwave warning under a system introduced in 2026, placing the southern North Gyeongsang cities of Gyeongsan and Pohang under the new alert. The Korea Meteorological Administration activated it at 10 a.m., or 0100 GMT.
KMA chief Lee Mi-seon said both cities had reached the emergency criteria during the weekend. The warning can be issued in a heat-affected area when forecasts show a perceived temperature of 38C or a measured temperature of 39C for one day. It sits above an ordinary description of very hot weather and is intended to signal a substantial danger of serious illness or death.
Officials advised people involved in outdoor activity to stop immediately and move somewhere cool. They also warned against leaving children, adults or pets inside vehicles. The instructions applied broadly because the emergency level indicates elevated risk even among healthy people, not only groups normally considered especially vulnerable to heat.
The government created the rating to respond to heatwaves that officials said were becoming longer and more intense. KMA data showed the average annual number of heatwave days rising from eight in the 1970s to 19 over the most recent five years. A heatwave day is defined as one with a maximum temperature of at least 33C.
Tropical nights increased over the same comparison period, from an annual average of four to 14. The agency defines a tropical night as one when the minimum overnight temperature remains at or above 25C. The two measures together indicate both daytime and overnight exposure, although the emergency alert itself uses the higher daily thresholds.
The July 12 action established how the new system would operate in practice. It identified named cities, a precise issue time and conditions already meeting the designated level. The alert was not a nationwide declaration, and officials did not list other municipalities under the emergency category that day.
South Korea’s measure came during wider extreme heat in other regions, including a severe European summer. That international context did not determine the Korean alert; KMA’s domestic criteria and observations in Gyeongsan and Pohang did.
No casualties or hospital totals were reported with the first warning. The immediate public-health response therefore focused on preventing exposure: ending outside work or recreation, reaching cooled shelter and avoiding enclosed vehicles. By distinguishing the emergency tier from routine heat notices, officials sought to make clear that the forecast conditions could rapidly become dangerous across the population.
The issue time matters for schools, employers, caregivers and residents deciding whether planned outdoor activity should continue. By setting numerical triggers, KMA provided a reproducible basis for the higher-tier message. Officials did not say whether both cities met the perceived-temperature threshold, actual-temperature threshold, or a combination of the two.
