South Korea is enduring its most intense heatwave on record, with temperatures reaching 42.5 degrees Celsius in the southeastern city of Yangsan on Sunday — the highest temperature ever recorded in the country since modern meteorological record-keeping began. The extreme heat has now claimed at least 21 lives from heat-related illnesses, with thousands more having sought hospital treatment as of Wednesday.

Seoul, the capital, has been placed under a severe heat warning for the first time under a new government alert system introduced this year specifically to address escalating extreme weather events. Temperatures across many parts of the country have climbed to near 40°C, and authorities warn the heatwave is likely to persist for some time.

President Lee Jae Myung convened an emergency meeting on Thursday with relevant ministers and local government leaders, ordering the full mobilisation of state resources to limit the damage. "The government must with exceptional resolve activate a comprehensive response system until the heat wave eases," Lee said at the government complex in Seoul. He called on officials to "fully mobilise all administrative powers" to protect citizens from both the heat and a worsening drought affecting the country's southern region.

Among the specific measures ordered by the president were protections for vulnerable groups — including elderly people living alone and residents of informal housing — mandatory rest periods for outdoor workers during peak afternoon heat, and steps to safeguard livestock and crops. Lee also instructed agencies to take preemptive action to secure sufficient water supplies as the drought in southern South Korea deepens alongside the heatwave.

The twin crises of extreme heat and drought underscore the growing frequency and severity of climate-driven emergencies across East Asia. South Korea's newly established heat warning system, the deaths of more than two dozen people, and a presidential emergency response all point to a country grappling with conditions that have moved well beyond historical norms — and signal that governments in the region are being forced to adapt rapidly to a new climatic reality.