Heavy snow has recently fallen in Seoul and its accumulation recorded 13.7 centimeters as of January 7th. The temperature soon fell to minus 16.5 degrees Celsius. Since many of the roads turned very icy and dangerous, the traffic slowed down to an average of 19 kilometers per hour by Thursday.
Excessive snow also resulted in rescheduling for many subway and train stations in Seoul – causing much chaos and inconvenience for commuters. One Korail official stated that the train is being delayed as the cold weather freezes some train doors and track converters.
Airlines have also had to cancel their latest flights due to strong wind and snow on the runways of airports.
A cold wave warning was released in the metropolitan area of Seoul on Wednesday, for the first time since January 23 of 2018. This warning is issued when the morning low hits below minus 15 degrees Celsius for more than two days, or when the temperature drops suddenly and some kind of damage is predicted.
Mountainous areas of Jeju Island also came under a weather warning for the first time since the nation introduced the alert systems back in 1964.
All across the country, the extreme cold weather is expected to peak Friday and continue until the end of the month or longer. Temperatures in Seoul are predicted to fall to minus 17 degrees Celsius from Friday.
– J.Chung.