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After a prolonged period of gloomy weather due to the rainy season, beaches in Busan have come alive again as scorching heat follows.
However, the sudden rise in temperature is causing a surge in heat-related illnesses across the country, including Busan and Gyeongnam, leading to tragic accidents.
On the 30th, the holiday season was in full swing, and Haeundae Beach in Busan witnessed a “half water, half people” scenario as crowds flocked to escape the heat.
As temperatures soared, beachgoers flooded the shores. On the 28th, Busan’s seven public beaches saw 411,419 visitors, and the number surged to 578,048 on the 29th. Roughly 559,000 visited on Sunday.
Haeundae Beach alone hosted 244,988 visitors on the 28th and 270,057 on the 29th.
During the past weeks, the beaches were quite empty due to the rainy season.
The number of visitors to Busan Beach from the 1st of last month to the 27th dropped by 26% compared to the same period last year, totaling 5,450,692.
The decrease was largely attributed to the heavy and consistent rainfall during the rainy season, with Busan experiencing a whopping 798.7mm of rain by the 26th, doubling the average rainfall and marking the third-largest since record-keeping began in 1973.
Despite the beach revival, the sweltering heat brings its own set of problems. Heat-related illnesses are on the rise, with 178 cases reported between the 26th and 28th of this month alone, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s thermal disease emergency room surveillance system.
Two elderly individuals lost their lives while working in the fields in Miryang and Namhae on the 29th, and four more people met the same fate the previous day in Gyeongbuk.
The authorities urge everyone to take precautions, stay hydrated, and seek shade to avoid heat-related health risks.
