전국 폭염 기승, 온열질환자 1200명 육박

Korea Heat Wave: Nearly 1,200 Sickened, Yangsan Hits 39.1°C

Part of the July 26, 2026 daily edition

전국 곳곳에 폭염중대경보가 내려졌습니다. 경남 양산, 경북 고령·포항·경주, 전남 광양, 대구 달성 등 여러 지역이 위험한 더위에 시달리고 있습니다. 특히 경남 양산은 낮 최고기온이 39.1도까지 올라 전국에서 가장 더웠고, 경주와 김해도 37도를 넘었습니다. 5월 15일부터 7월 23일까지 온열질환자는 1,182명에 이르렀으며, 이 가운데 5명이 목숨을 잃었습니다. 고성에서는 97세 여성이 비닐하우스에서 쓰러진 뒤 병원으로 옮겨졌지만 끝내 숨졌고, 제주에서는 80대 여성이 입원한 지 나흘 만에 세상을 떠났습니다. 폭염은 사람뿐만 아니라 가축에게도 큰 피해를 주어, 돼지와 닭 등 가축 25만5천여 마리가 폐사했습니다. 앞으로도 무더위가 계속될 것으로 보여 건강 관리에 각별한 주의가 필요합니다.

Background

Korea's heat alerts run in three steps, and the article's 폭염중대경보 is the newest and highest of them: the two long-standing tiers, advisory and warning, are issued when the day's peak 체감온도 — a heat index that folds in humidity rather than the plain air temperature — is forecast to reach 33°C or 35°C two days running, while the top tier was added only this summer, from 1 June 2026, for even a single expected day at a 38°C heat index or a 39°C air temperature. The running patient count works the same way every summer: the disease-control agency gathers heat-illness cases from several hundred emergency rooms nationwide between mid-May and the end of September, which is why the article can give a season-to-date total starting from a specific May date. The endings 주의보 and 경보 recur across every kind of Korean hazard alert, from heavy rain to cold snaps, so they are worth learning once as the general advisory and warning rungs.

Translation

Extreme-heat emergency warnings have been issued across many regions of the country. Areas such as Yangsan in South Gyeongsang; Goryeong, Pohang, and Gyeongju in North Gyeongsang; Gwangyang in South Jeolla; and Dalseong in Daegu are suffering from dangerous heat. In particular, Yangsan recorded the country's highest daytime temperature, reaching 39.1 degrees Celsius, followed by Gyeongju and Gimhae, both of which topped 37 degrees. From May 15 to July 23, the number of heat-related illness patients reached 1,182, of whom 5 died. In Goseong, a 97-year-old woman collapsed in a plastic greenhouse and was taken to the hospital but later died, and in Jeju, a woman in her 80s passed away four days after being hospitalized. The heat wave has caused great damage not only to people but also to livestock, killing about 255,000 animals, including pigs and chickens. Since the sweltering heat is expected to continue, special care for health management is needed.

Vocabulary

폭염명사 (noun)extreme heat, heat wave
최고기온명사 (noun)highest temperature
온열질환자명사 (noun)patient with a heat-related illness
폐사하다동사 (verb)to die (of animals/livestock)
시달리다동사 (verb)to suffer from, be plagued by

Grammar points

-뿐만 아니라not only ~ but also

Used to add something beyond what was already mentioned, meaning "not only A but also B".

Example: 폭염은 사람뿐만 아니라 가축에게도 큰 피해를 주었습니다.

The heat wave caused great damage not only to people but also to livestock.

-(으)ㄴ 지 N 만에N after ~ happened

Expresses how much time has passed since a certain event happened.

Example: 80대 여성이 입원한 지 나흘 만에 세상을 떠났습니다.

A woman in her 80s passed away four days after being hospitalized.

-(으)ㄹ 것으로 보이다is expected to ~

Used to express a forecast or expectation, meaning "it is expected that...".

Example: 앞으로도 무더위가 계속될 것으로 보입니다.

The sweltering heat is expected to continue.

전국 폭염 기승, 온열질환자 1200명 육박

Translation

Vocabulary

Grammar points

-뿐만 아니라not only ~ but also

-(으)ㄴ 지 N 만에N after ~ happened

-(으)ㄹ 것으로 보이다is expected to ~

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