A relentless, record-shattering heatwave that has already claimed nearly 20 lives and sickened thousands across South Korea has forced the nation’s top professional baseball circuit to scrap all scheduled matches for Wednesday and Thursday, marking one of the most visible public disruptions caused by the extreme weather event.
For more than two months, the country has baked under unrelenting high temperatures, with three new national all-time temperature records set over the past seven days alone. The peak of the heatwave so far came Sunday, when thermometers climbed to 42.5 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. As of Wednesday, the highest-level heat alerts remained in effect for both eastern and western districts of the capital Seoul, a warning triggered when heat index is projected to hit 38C or actual temperatures are forecast to reach 39C or higher.
The cancellation decision from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) came just one day after South Korean President Lee Jae Myung directed government agencies to classify the ongoing heatwave as a national disaster, and ordered officials to deploy all necessary resources to implement emergency protective measures to save civilian lives.
In an official statement announcing the match cancellations, the KBO noted that the decision to call off all August 5 and 6 games was driven by ongoing safety risks for both competing players and attending spectators, and that the cancellations will remain in place until comprehensive heat safety protocols can be put in place. Local media reports confirm that 10 scheduled games across the country were scrapped as a result of the order.
The devastating public health toll of the heatwave is already substantial: data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency shows that between May 15 and August 3, more than 2,200 people have been treated for heat-related illnesses, with at least 19 confirmed deaths linked to extreme heat.
The cancellations are not an unprecedented step for the league this week. On Tuesday, the KBO already called off two scheduled games: one at Seoul’s Jamsil Stadium and another in the southwestern city of Gwangju, after multiple spectators collapsed from heat exhaustion during pre-game and game activities. Even for matches that went ahead on Tuesday, heat-related medical incidents were widespread. An official with the SSG Landers franchise confirmed to AFP that a male attendee at the team’s Tuesday match against the LG Twins in Incheon collapsed from a suspected heat illness, forcing a nine-minute game stoppage before the fan was transported to a local hospital by ambulance. The team added that 25 additional spectators required on-site medical treatment for heat-related symptoms during the contest.
Moving forward, the KBO announced it will convene an emergency executive committee meeting, with representatives from member clubs and the KBO Players’ Association in attendance, to negotiate and adopt additional long-term heat safety protocols for the remainder of the season.