SEOUL — Twenty-one people have died, and 2,293 have sought medical help in South Korea from May 20 to Aug 11 due to abnormally hot weather, the South Korean Ministry of the Interior and Safety said, reported Sputnik.

The number of people affected by the heat has already exceeded last year’s figures, when 2,139 people were hospitalised. At the same time, the mortality rate in 2023 was higher – 28 people, the ministry said on Tuesday.

In addition, the media reported that 703,000 head of cattle – 45,000 pigs and 658,000 poultry – and 895,000 aquatic organisms died from June 11 to Aug 12 this year due to heat.

South Korea has been gripped by a heatwave since the end of the monsoon season last week, with temperatures in many parts of the country exceeding 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). — BERNAMA-SPUTNIK