North Korea issues heat wave rules as deaths surpass 100

North Korea's government convened an emergency meeting on August 2 after heat-related deaths surpassed 100 nationwide, issuing comprehensive guidelines to combat the extreme heat wave. The Ministry of Disaster Prevention submitted a report to the Cabinet earlier in the month, detailing heat wave damage from June 1 onward. The report documented approximately 4,300 heat illness patients, with around 100 deaths.

In response, authorities released 20 heat wave action guidelines for every province, covering daily life and labor sites. The guidelines recommend seeking shade during the hottest parts of the day, moving labor to cooler hours, providing ice water to workers, and promptly transporting individuals with heat illness to hospitals. However, farm workers and construction laborers in South Pyongan province expressed frustration, claiming authorities ordered them to continue working through the heat despite the guidelines.

The guidelines also emphasized the prohibition of any further heat wave deaths, but low-level officials overseeing labor sites reported that supervisors did not reduce work quotas even as they were instructed to prevent additional fatalities.