People are on their way to work amid extreme cold weather continuing to grip the nation on Jan. 24, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Bitter cold weather continued to grip the nation Wednesday, keeping temperatures well below zero in most regions, with Seoul’s morning low at minus 11.2 C, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
The cities of Incheon and Suwon, both located in the area surrounding Seoul, also recorded morning lows of minus 10.4 C and minus 11.3 C, respectively, while regions in the northern part of Gyeonggi Province and inland and mountainous regions of Gangwon Province saw temperatures falling below minus 15 C.
Day temperatures will range from minus 6 to 3 C above zero, though cold wind is expected to bring down the apparent temperatures even further, the KMA said.
Snow of up to 7 cm is expected to fall across parts of South Chungcheong Province, and the southern regions of the Jeolla provinces and Gwangju will receive up to 10 cm of snowfall by morning.
The southern island of Jeju will receive 5 to 20 cm of precipitation until Thursday, and the eastern island of Ulleung and nearby Dokdo are forecast to see up to 15 cm of snow and rain.
The cold wave has disrupted and canceled 346 flights since it began Monday, including 180 flights to and from Jeju and 91 in Gimpo, western Seoul, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
Twenty-seven local highways were off-limits, and 69 passenger ships from 51 routes were not under normal operations due to inclement weather conditions.
Meanwhile, 133 cases of water gauge ruptures have been reported nationwide so far, including 60 cases in Seoul, but all were restored, officials said. No casualties were reported from the severe weather, they added.
(Yonhap)
