a serious turn in recent days, with heat-related casualties and millions of dollars worth of

damage. The heat wave is also pushing up electricity

consumption and depleting the nation's power reserves, prompting the government to upgrade

its power-shortage alert by a notch to level two.

Kim Hyun-bin reports. A heat wave warning was issued on Friday throughout Korea,. with

some areas getting above 37 degrees Celsius. The heat wave warning has been in effect for

the past five days. as the mercury continues to soar above 34.

So far, two people have died of heat stroke and tens of thousands of livestock have expired

in the heat. On just three farms in Gyeonggi Province alone,

over 10 thousand chickens have died in the heat.

Unfortunately, temperatures around the nation are expected to stay above 30 degrees Celsius

through next Thursday and more heat-related damage is expected.

Meanwhile, more and more people are turning on their air conditioners, pushing power consumption

up beyond recommended levels. The Korea Electric Power Corporation said

Friday that it bumped its level-one power-reserve warning up to level-two in the afternoon.

A level-one warning is issued when the power reserves dip below 4-point-5 million kilowatts

and a level-two warning is issued when the country's power reserves fall below 3-point-5

million kilowatts. This is the second level-two warning of the

year. Back in September 2011, Korea suffered a massive

blackout due to a power shortage that affected more than 3-point-5 million households nationwide.

The demand for power is expected to hit its highest levels in the middle of next week.

as the heat wave continues and more people return to work from summer vacations.

Kim Hyun-bin Arirang, News.