South Korea is in the midst of the season’s coldest weather, with the temperature in Seoul plummeting to -12.4 degrees Celsius on Sunday (Dec 17) morning.
The mercury in the South Korean capital may drop to between -18 to -3 degrees Celsius on Monday morning, reported Yonhap news agency, citing the country’s weather agency.
The cold weather is expected to continue throughout the week, The Korea Times reported, and “morning lows are expected to hover between -17 degrees and 2 degrees nationwide throughout the week”.
A cold wave advisory took effect in areas including Seoul, Busan, Daejeon and Daegu at 9pm on Saturday. Authorities also issued heavy snow warnings for the country’s central and western areas.
The advisory is issued when the morning temperature is below -12 degrees Celsius for more than two consecutive days or when the temperature drops more than 10 degrees Celsius to below -3 degrees Celsius.
Authorities in Seoul maintained the cold wave advisory on Sunday and said they took precautionary measures against potential damage.
These include offering temporary shelter to the homeless and enhancing patrols to prevent traffic accidents on icy roads.
The Korea Herald reported damage to a KTX train on Saturday evening due to the cold weather. Cracks were discovered on an outer window of the train but no passengers sustained any injuries, it said.
The cold snap also affected about 100 flights – most of them to and from Jeju Island, due to strong winds or snowfall.
The cold wave and heavy snow caused 14 flights on the resort island to be cancelled on Sunday afternoon, reported Yonhap news.
Another 97 flights were delayed, said the agency, citing officials at Jeju International Airport.
Jeju police were controlling traffic on all 1,100 roads across the island, allowing only large vehicles with winterisation equipment on the roads, Yonhap reported.
Agencies
