Influences of Heat Waves on Daily Mortality in South Korea

Extremely hot weathers may cause major weather-related deaths in the summertime. Influences of heat waves on daily mortalities in 6 major cities of South Korea were investigated. Daily deaths at Seoul were exponentially increased with the daily maximum temperature. However, there were regional differences of the temperature dependence on the mortality because of an acclimation effect of inhabitants. The threshold temperature (with respect to daily maximum temperature) at Seoul was found to be about $31^{\circ}C$ provided that it is determined by a two-phase regression model. The meteorological causes of recordable hot summer in late July of 1994 and their impacts on human health were also investigated. Strong surface heating caused by strong insolation under conditions with clear sky and dry surface due to prolonged drought was likely to be closely associated with the extreme hot weather in 1994 in South Korea.

한반도에서 여름철 폭염이 일 사망률에 미치는 영향