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Busan Metropolitan City Issues Severe Heat Warning and Convenes Emergency Meeting to Assess Conditions and Review Special Measures

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Busan Metropolitan City announced that, following the issuance of a severe heat warning at 4:00 p.m. today, July 29, it will convene a meeting at 5:00 p.m. at the City Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, chaired by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, to assess conditions and review special measures.

The meeting will be attended by heat response-related offices, bureaus and headquarters, as well as the Busan Regional Employment and Labor Administration, Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency, fire authorities, Busan Transportation Corporation and Busan Infrastructure Corporation. Participants will discuss key measures to be implemented by each organization in response to the severe heat warning.

The Korea Meteorological Administration announced the warning at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29. It will take effect at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 30, in western and central Busan.

Severe Heat Warning

A severe heat warning is issued for an area where the daily maximum apparent temperature has reached at least 35 degrees Celsius for two or more days and either of the following conditions applies:

• 1.The daily maximum apparent temperature is expected to remain at or above 38 degrees Celsius for at least one day.

• 2.The daily maximum temperature is expected to remain at or above 39 degrees Celsius for at least one day.

Busan Metropolitan City has continued to manage heat-related disaster conditions in accordance with its response manual since this year’s first heat advisory was issued for western Busan on July 6.

As of yesterday, July 28, Busan had recorded 38 heat-related illness cases, less than half the 89 cases reported during the same period last year.

The meeting will focus on suspending outdoor work and events in areas under the severe heat warning, strengthening protection measures for vulnerable groups such as people experiencing homelessness and residents of single-room occupancy housing, and identifying additional privately operated shelters through public-private cooperation.

First, when a severe heat warning takes effect, the suspension of outdoor work required for disaster and safety management will be recommended, except for emergency response operations. Outdoor sports facilities operated by local governments, including park golf courses, will be closed, and the cancellation or postponement of outdoor events and festivals will be actively reviewed and implemented.

Second, care measures will be expanded to include patrols by field response teams for people experiencing homelessness, welfare checks on residents of single-room occupancy housing, tailored care services for older adults, customized care, home-visit services for people with severe disabilities, welfare checks on integrated care recipients, and welfare checks on people at risk of dying alone.

Third, in addition to the seven existing rest facilities for mobile workers, the City plans to begin operating 48 convenience-store shelters in August under an agreement with CU, allowing mobile workers to use them 24 hours a day.

Meanwhile, today, July 29, the City urgently allocated KRW 360 million in a second round of heat response funding to its districts and counties to provide heat illness prevention supplies to residents and strengthen community-based response programs.

The City previously provided a total of KRW 1.93 billion in heat response funding to districts, counties and municipal offices in February and May this year to expand heat mitigation facilities. Including the latest funding for prevention supplies, the City has allocated a total of KRW 2.29 billion for heat response measures this year.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo is expected to say, “A severe heat warning is a sign that temperatures have reached life-threatening levels, and we must take it with the utmost seriousness. I urge all departments to mobilize every available administrative resource to implement proactive protective measures that residents can directly experience and to safeguard their lives and safety from this record-breaking heat.”