Six things to know about Asia’s heatwave and the health impacts

A heatwave linked to a powerful El Niño swept South Korea, Japan, China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia this summer, setting temperature records and killing dozens of people. South Korea recorded 42.5°C in Yangsan, its hottest reading since 1904, while Hong Kong logged its highest temperature since the 1980s.

South Korea reported 3,445 heat-illness cases and 31 deaths, most among people 60 and older; Japan reported 14 suspected heatstroke deaths and over 10,800 hospitalizations in a single week. The heat also killed nearly 1.2 million livestock and 2.83 million farmed fish in South Korea, three lions at a Tokyo zoo, and a 26-year-old rugby player in Japan.

Scientists interviewed say El Niño, intensified by human-caused climate change, trapped Asia under high pressure that blocked monsoon clouds and let solar radiation bake the region unchecked. Experts also warn of secondary effects — rising dengue cases in Malaysia and Singapore and wildfire haze from drought-stricken Indonesia — with the current El Niño expected to peak this fall and winter.

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