Seoul, Dec 17 – South Korea came under the grip of the season’s coldest weather on Sunday, with the morning lows plummeting to minus 12.4 Celsius in Seoul, the state weather agency said.
The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) predicted temperatures will drop further on Monday morning, with the morning lows in the capital expected to be between minus 18 Celsius to minus 3 Celsius.
The weather agency said the Daegwallyeong district in Gangwon province saw the temperature drop to morning lows of minus 16.8 Celsius and a sensible temperature of nearly minus 29.7 Celsius on Sunday.
A total of 14 flights were cancelled on the southern resort island of Jeju on Sunday afternoon, officials said, amid the cold wave and heavy snow, Yonhap news agency reported.
The cold snap affected Jeju International Airport, prompting the 14 flights to be cancelled and another 97 flights to be delayed, according to airport officials.
As of 3:10 p.m., mountainous areas in Jeju had received up to 22.6 cm of snow, weather authorities said.
The flight cancellations at the Jeju airport came a day after the KMA issued heavy snow warnings for the country’s central and western areas.
Jeju police were controlling traffic on all 1,100 roads across the island, allowing only large vehicles with winterisation equipment on the roads.
A cold wave advisory also took effect in areas, including Seoul, Busan, Daejeon and Daegu at 9 p.m. on Saturday.
The advisory is issued when the morning low comes below minus 12 Celsius for more than two consecutive days or when the temperature drops more than 10 Celsius to below minus 3 Celsius.
On Sunday, the Seoul metropolitan government said it maintained the cold wave advisory and took precautionary measures against potential damage.
int/khz
