SEOUL, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's capital, Seoul, has been under the highest heat wave warning amid growing casualties and agricultural damage across the country.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) on Tuesday expanded the serious heat wave warning, or the highest level of heat wave alert, to Seoul's northeastern and northwestern areas in the morning.
Following the previous day's warning in the southeastern and southwestern districts, the entire capital city has been placed under the severe heat wave alert.
The warning is issued when the daily maximum perceived temperature reaches 38 degrees Celsius or higher, or the actual daily maximum temperature is expected to hit 39 degrees or higher, in regions where the highest perceived temperature has already exceeded 35 degrees for two consecutive days.
The simmering heat has triggered identical warnings across multiple areas in Gyeonggi province, surrounding Seoul, and southwestern Jeolla province.
Human casualties increased amid the continued scorching heat, which led 108 people to be treated for heat-related illnesses at emergency rooms nationwide on Sunday alone, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).
It pushed the cumulative number of heat-related patients to 2,025 since the KDCA began its monitoring system on May 15. The death toll from the extreme heat had risen to 16.
A total of 432,450 farm animals, including 28,194 pigs and 404,256 poultry birds, perished across the country as of Sunday amid the prolonged heat dome.
Rising water temperatures along the western and southern coasts led to a fish kill of 165,196. ■