In the wake of heat wave alerts in place nationwide, except for areas along the east coast, the Gyeonggi provincial city of Paju recorded the day's highest temperature of 38-point-eight degrees Celsius at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The Korea Meteorological Administration(KMA) said the daytime high also peaked above 38 degrees in Gyeonggi's Hanam and the southwestern city of Gwangju, while Seoul saw the mercury peak at 37-point-nine degrees in Gangnam District.

The scorching heat is forecast to continue Thursday, with morning lows expected to range between 20 and 25 degrees, before daytime highs rise to between 26 and 35 degrees.

Sensory temperatures in most of the country's western and inland regions are likely to surge to around 35 degrees.

Showers are in the forecast for the southernmost island of Jeju until Thursday morning, between late Wednesday and early Thursday along the eastern coast in North Gyeongsang, and until Thursday evening along the western coast in the Jeolla region.