SEOUL – South Korean President Lee Jae-myung urged on Tuesday authorities ​to step up support for people ‌affected by a record heatwave in the country, saying the death toll had risen ​to 16 and warning that ​extreme weather was becoming more frequent.

Speaking at ⁠a cabinet meeting, Lee called ​on officials to take necessary measures to ​protect the daily lives of people and inspect power systems as demand for air conditioning ​surges.

"We need to make efforts for ​a fundamental overhaul of the national crisis system, ‌since ⁠this extreme weather is becoming normal," he said.

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The nation's weather agency said Yangsan, a southeastern inland city, recorded a ​temperature of ​42.5 ⁠degrees Celsius (108.5 degrees Fahrenheit) on Sunday, the highest temperature measured ​in 122 years of weather ​observations.

The ⁠Korea Meteorological Administration also issued its first-ever heatwave warning for parts of Seoul ⁠and ​neighbouring Gyeonggi on Monday, ​extending this to all of the capital on ​Tuesday.