Ministry of Interior and Safety leads first TF meeting with agencies to improve heatwave statistics and minimize support blind spots

A heatwave scorches the Korean Peninsula. [Yonhap]
A heatwave scorches the Korean Peninsula. [Yonhap]

The government has launched formal discussions to overhaul the criteria for recognizing heatwave casualties and the support system for victims, aiming to better reflect the recurring nature of heat-related disasters.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety held the first meeting of a "Heatwave Casualty System Improvement TF" Tuesday at Government Complex Seoul, bringing together experts from relevant agencies.

The meeting was attended by officials and specialists from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Statistics, the KDCA, the Korea Environment Institute and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs.

According to the Ministry of Interior and Safety, heatwaves have been intensifying each year due to climate change. This summer, the daily high temperature in Yangsan, South Gyeongsang Province, reached 42.5 degrees Celsius, breaking the previous record. Daily highs of 39 degrees or above were recorded on 42 occasions, and heatwave alerts were issued 411 times — the highest number on record.

However, a pan-government response — including actively advising the public to limit outdoor activities by sector following the introduction of a new extreme heatwave alert level — helped cut deaths by 25 percent and heat-related illness cases by 10.2 percent compared with 2018.

As heatwaves become a routine disaster, calls have grown for more systematic data management and a stronger victim support framework to accurately capture the nature of heat damage, including the disproportionate toll on the elderly and the delayed onset of aftereffects.

Under the current system, only heatwave damage occurring in areas where a heatwave alert is in effect is officially recognized. While aftereffects can be assessed after treatment concludes, reports must be filed within 10 days of the end of the heatwave response period.

At Tuesday's meeting, the National Disaster Management Research Institute presented a proposal on distinguishing and utilizing separate statistics for heatwave deaths and heat-illness deaths, while the Ministry of Interior and Safety outlined directions for improving the criteria for recognizing heatwave casualties. Participants then discussed reform tasks.

Those present agreed that heatwave mortality statistics managed separately by different agencies had caused confusion due to differing collection purposes and standards, and jointly reviewed ways to analyze the gaps between datasets and link them for broader use.

Going forward, the TF plans to focus its inter-agency data collaboration on three priorities: improving the accuracy of heatwave statistics, minimizing support blind spots for those with aftereffects and other victims, and strengthening guidance on available victim support. The group aims to finalize improvements before May 15 next year, when the heatwave response period begins.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety will also continue pursuing reforms identified during this year's heatwave response, including clarifying required actions when an extreme heatwave alert is issued and streamlining the overlapping standards between meteorological special advisories and heatwave crisis alert levels.

"Together with relevant agencies and experts, we will build a statistical foundation that accurately captures heatwave damage, minimize support blind spots for those with aftereffects and others, and develop a scientific, data-driven heatwave disaster management system," said Kim Yong-gyun, director general of the natural disaster division at the Ministry of Interior and Safety.


thlee@heraldcorp.com