Emergency for farms amid heat wave... Concerns grow over fruit damage in Pohang and Gyeongsan

As recordbreaking heat waves continue across the Gyeongbuk areas of Pohang and Gyeongsan, fruit farms growing apples, grapes, and other crops are facing serious difficulties. On the 13th, the local temperature approached 40 degrees Celsius, and farmers avoided working in the middle of the day, adjusting their schedules to dawn and late afternoon. At an apple farm in Gichemyeon, Bukgu, Pohang, there were concerns about socalled sunscald damage, where strong sunlight harms the fruit’s surface. Farmers are checking sprinklers and watering the crops, but given the rural area’s large elderly population, guidance and patrols have also continued to reduce outdoor activity during the heat wave. The heat wave has affected not only farming but also local leisure activities and industrial sites. At Yeongildae Beach in Pohang, the number of vacationers has dropped sharply due to the heat, and the POSCO Pohang Steelworks has strengthened measures to prevent heatrelated illnesses by distributing bottled water and cooling supplies to workers.