Let's talk about the weather these days.
The scorching heat baking Korea has taken a serious turn in recent days, with heat-related
casualties and millions of dollars worth of damage.
The heat wave is also pushing up electricity consumption and depleting the nation's power
reserves, prompting the government to upgrade its power-shortage alert by a notch to level
two.
Kim Hyun-bin reports.
A heat wave warning was issued on Friday throughout Korea,. with some areas getting above 37 degrees
Celsius.
The heat wave warning has been in effect for the past five days.
as the mercury continues to soar above 34.
So far, two people have died of heat stroke and tens of thousands of livestock have expired
in the heat.
On just three farms in Gyeonggi Province alone, over 10 thousand chickens have died in the
heat.
Unfortunately, temperatures around the nation are expected to stay above 30 degrees Celsius
through next Thursday and more heat-related damage is expected.
Meanwhile, more and more people are turning on their air conditioners, pushing power consumption
up beyond recommended levels.
The Korea Electric Power Corporation said Friday that it bumped its level-one power-reserve
warning up to level-two in the afternoon.
A level-one warning is issued when the power reserves dip below 4-point-5 million kilowatts
and a level-two warning is issued when the country's power reserves fall below 3-point-5
million kilowatts.
This is the second level-two warning of the year.
Back in September 2011, Korea suffered a massive blackout due to a power shortage that affected
more than 3-point-5 million households nationwide.
The demand for power is expected to hit its highest levels in the middle of next week.
as the heat wave continues and more people return to work from summer vacations.
Kim Hyun-bin Arirang, News.