South Korea’s professional baseball league scrapped all 10 games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday as a record-breaking heat wave gripped the nation, overwhelming both players and fans and forcing the authorities to warn citizens off the streets and farm fields.
The brutal heat set a record on Sunday, when a southwestern town clocked a staggering 42.5 degrees Celsius, about 108.5 degrees Fahrenheit, — the highest reading in 122 years of weather observations in South Korea.
Illnesses related to the extreme weather have claimed 21 lives since mid-May, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency confirmed Wednesday. President Lee Jae Myung declared the scorching conditions a national disaster on Tuesday, a day after three citizens, aged 77 to 97, collapsed and died while walking or working in garden plots.
Elsewhere, the heat has emptied outdoor markets and construction sites, triggered power outages in parts of the country as electricity demand spiked, and killed hundreds of thousands of pigs, chickens and other livestock, the Home Ministry reported.
On Wednesday, the state weather agency placed over half of the Seoul metropolitan area under its highest heat wave warning, issued when temperatures are expected to breach 39 degrees Celsius. Fire trucks sprayed water onto scorching asphalt. Motorbike couriers braved the elements to deliver shaved ice and other treats to people staying indoors. Flophouse residents were relocated to air-conditioned public bathhouses overnight free of charge.
In rural towns, drones equipped with cameras and loudspeakers buzzed over farmland, urging workers to head indoors. The drones also broadcast a recorded plea from Health Minister Jeong Eun-kyeong, warning citizens to avoid outdoor activity.
The Korea Baseball Organization said on Wednesday it canceled games “recognizing the serious safety risks posed to spectators and players by the recent, prolonged nationwide heat wave.” It was the first time in league history that play had been halted across the country because of extreme weather.
During a Tuesday evening game in Incheon, west of Seoul, dozens of spectators were treated for heat-related symptoms. One male spectator collapsed from dizziness, briefly halting the game as he was rushed to the hospital.
Players have struggled too: Last Friday, a catcher was pulled from a game after suffering a headache and vomiting.
So far this year, the league has canceled 15 games because of extreme heat, including two on Tuesday.
