122-year record heat kills nearly a million farm animals in South Korea
South Korea's record heat wave has killed close to a million farm animals and 1.83 million farmed fish, the agriculture and fisheries ministries said, with farmers reporting potato and watermelon crops rotting in the field.
South Korea experienced its hottest summer on record in 2025, with temperatures reaching record highs and causing widespread heat-related damage. The Korea Meteorological Administration recorded a national temperature record of 42.5 degrees Celsius on August 2, with Yangsan in South Gyeongsang staying above 40 degrees Celsius for five consecutive days.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 3,237 heat illness cases and 28 suspected heat deaths between May 15 and August 8, with 80% of the fatalities being individuals aged 80 or older.
The livestock industry suffered heavily from the extreme heat, with 998,000 animals reported dead as of August 7. Poultry accounted for roughly 95% of the reported losses, with 944,234 birds dying. About 257 km south of Seoul, strawberry farmer Yoon Woo-ha in Damyang county lost seedlings she had cultivated for three months, and the damage falls outside what her insurance covers.
The government has revised disaster insurance and relief laws to include abnormal high temperatures and earthquakes as agricultural disasters, but recovery support will still require case-by-case certification from a government deliberation committee. Extreme heat will continue to require certification, unlike natural disasters like typhoons, which trigger automatic weather alerts.
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