A fleet of water trucks sprays down a street in downtown Seoul to lower road temperatures in this undated photo. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
Facing forecasts of an unseasonably brutal summer and the earliest heat-related fatality on record, municipal authorities here are transforming the capital’s public spaces into a fortified network of cooling zones to combat extreme urban temperatures.
The seasonal counteroffensive, scheduled to run through Sept. 30, comes after the Korea Meteorological Administration projected that mean temperatures this summer will significantly exceed seasonal norms. The threat took on new urgency when a heat-related death was recorded on May 15 — the earliest such fatality since the country established its emergency room heat illness surveillance system in 2011.
To protect pedestrians in a sprawling metropolis dominated by asphalt and concrete, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is rolling out an array of architectural and mechanical interventions.
Among the additions are "Happiso" zones — air-dome-equipped outdoor cooling shelters — scheduled to be pitched at 14 high-traffic landmarks, including Gwanghwamun Square and Cheonggye Plaza. The city will also deploy large canopy-style shade structures across 35 heat-vulnerable pedestrian corridors, such as the Ttukseom waterfront, where heavy foot traffic collides with a lack of natural shade.
Beneath the streets and along the sidewalks, the city is using water infrastructure. Officials plan to expand Seoul’s network of fine-mist cooling fog systems to 235 locations. Underground, automated cooling road systems will be extended to spray water directly onto pavement surfaces along a 5.67-kilometer grid encompassing major transit hubs like City Hall Station. During peak heat advisories, a fleet of 199 street-washing trucks will scour more than 2,000 kilometers of roads up to eight times a day to suppress the urban heat island effect.
The strategy also targets the city’s structural envelope. Workers will apply solar-reflective "cool roof" coatings to 204 buildings, prioritizing aging housing stock and welfare facilities that serve vulnerable elderly and disabled residents.
Backstopping the specialized infrastructure is a network of 4,078 public cooling centers operating citywide. To ensure the safety net holds, daily inspection teams across all 25 municipal districts will monitor the facilities to guarantee they remain open and accessible as the mercury rises.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
Source: Korea Times News
