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Cold snap grips Seoul as mercury plunges below minus 10 degrees Celsius

Published: 18 Dec. 2024, 14:38 Updated: 18 Dec. 2024, 16:16

LEE SOO-JUNG
[email protected]

Pedestrians wearing heavy winter jackets walk in central Seoul on Dec. 18, marking the chilliest morning this winter. [NEWS1]

A cold air mass from the northern hemisphere plunged Seoul’s morning low to under minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, with the cold spell expected to persist through Thursday.

The state weather agency said Wednesday that some regions in the greater Seoul area and Gangwon had the chilliest morning this winter due to a combination of cold air and clear skies, with no clouds to trap the heat.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said the city of Paju, in the northern part of Gyeonggi, experienced a daily low of minus 14.4 degrees Celsius, and Yangju County in Gangwon recorded minus 15.6 degrees Celsius at 6 a.m.

The districts of Eunpyeong and Nowon in northern Seoul saw morning lows of around minus 11 degrees Celsius.

The KMA issued a cold wave advisory for northern Gyeonggi and some regions of Gangwon. A cold wave advisory is issued when the morning low is expected to remain at minus 12 degrees Celsius or lower for at least two consecutive days or when the morning low is expected to drop by more than 10 degrees Celsius from the previous day to 3 degrees Celsius or lower.

The weather agency said Wednesday’s daytime temperature will hover around zero to seven degrees Celsius — colder than Tuesday — along with strong wind.

The KMA forecast a morning low in Seoul on Thursday of minus six degrees Celsius, similar to Wednesday, while northern Gyeonggi would see a low of minus 12 degrees Celsius.

The weather agency said temperatures on Thursday morning would be relatively lower than average years while climbing to average annual temperatures in the afternoon.

However, the cold wave will likely hit the country’s central region on the weekend, plunging daily temperatures to below minus 10 degrees Celsius.

“The recurring arrival of cold air masses from the northern hemisphere will drop temperatures, and this typical cold cycle will repeat for a while,” said Woo Jin-kyu, a KMA official.

The cold snap was accompanied snow in some coastal regions and islands. Ulleung County of North Gyeongsang had received 31 centimeters (12 inches) of snow as of 11 a.m. Wednesday.

The snow is expected to continue in the coastal regions of southern Gangwon and North Gyeonsang and on the Dokdo islets until Thursday, with an hourly precipitation of three centimeters. The KMA said mountainous areas on Jeju Island and North Jeolla will likely have one to two centimeters of snow per hour.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [[email protected]]