Seoul Issues a Heat-Tied First Amid 'National Disaster'

South Korea's record-smashing heat wave is now bearing down on its capital. Seoul is poised to issue its first-ever "severe heat wave warning" as temperatures are forecast to hit more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, with several more days just a notch lower, per the Guardian. The warning follows an all-time national high of 108.5 degrees recorded on Sunday in Yangsan, part of a heat wave that has left 16 people dead and more than 2,000 treated for heat-related illness since May.

President Lee Jae Myung has ordered officials to protect vulnerable residents and shore up power systems as air-conditioning demand spikes. He said the government should "consider the current situation a national disaster," per the Korea Herald. Seoul has deployed 200 water-spraying trucks, while nurses are checking tens of thousands of at-risk people, the Guardian reports.

Elsewhere, drones with loudspeakers and thermal cameras are monitoring crowds. Meteorologists cite overlapping high-pressure systems and hot winds as key factors in the punishing conditions, noting that Typhoon Dolphin's path could also affect things. The Independent notes that "heat waves are becoming more frequent and more intense as the climate warms."