President Lee Jae Myung called South Korea's record-breaking heatwave a national disaster on Tuesday and ordered officials to step up support for affected people, as the death toll continued to climb.
Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Lee directed authorities to take necessary measures to protect citizens' daily lives and inspect power systems as air conditioning demand surged. He expressed concern that abnormal weather was becoming the new normal.
The Seoul metropolitan government extended the country's first-ever heatwave warning across the entire city on Tuesday.
The number of deaths attributed to the heat differs between reports: SCMP puts the toll at 19, while DW reports 16.