Mercury falls to lowest level in 30 years in Seoul

By Park Si-soo The mercury fell to a frigid minus 15.1 degrees Celsius in Seoul, the lowest in 30 years for December, as extremely cold weather is expected to continue throughout the weekend. Christmas Day is forecast to be snowless for most of the country, while western coastal areas and Daejoen, 150 kilometers south of Seoul, are expected to get heavy snowfall, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said Friday. “This is the first time since 1980 that the temperature has fallen below minus 15 degrees in December in Seoul,” a KMAofficial said. The KMA said a cold front from Siberia in Russia swept central and northern parts of the peninsula, Friday, sending the mercury to below minus 10 degrees Celsius in the morning — minus 15.2 degrees in Gyeonggi, and minus 14 degrees in Gangwon. Some mountainous regions in Gangwon Province saw the mercury dropping to minus 22 degrees. High wave warnings issued in the West Sea saw ferries linking Incheon and eight islands cancelled, the KMA said. The temperature will dip to below minus 14 degrees in Seoul today, and minus 6-9 degrees in the southern part of the peninsula. The KMA expects the freezing weather to ease from Monday. On Christmas day, the temperature is forecast to fall to as low as minus 14 degrees. Snow is expected on Sunday in Seoul and most other regions of the peninsula.

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