Heat waves leading to fewer babies? Why the concern is not exaggerated

For 36-year-old office worker Kim Jung-hoon, who plans to marry next March, his dream of becoming a father now comes with hesitation. After enduring suffocating heat waves this summer, he began asking himself, “Would it be safe to raise a baby in this kind of weather?” His fiancee shares the same concerns. Kim said his biggest fear is whether a newborn, unable to voice discomfort, could survive relentless summer heat. “Adults can drink water or turn on the air conditioner, but babies can only cry,” he said. “When the temperature rises close to 40 degrees Celsius, I worry a child would truly suffer.” Another parent, a 35-year-old mother of a 4-year-old, echoed similar anxiety. “Summers are hotter and winters colder, and even adults struggle to cope,” she said. “Every time I take my child outside, I wonder what kind of world awaits them.” Watching the recent drought in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, made her concerns more concrete. “When I hear about water shortages, I think about how parents with babies manage daily tasks like washing bottles or giving baths,” she sWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times