A day after issuing a cold wave advisory, the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Sunday announced that the weather warning will remain in effect as temperatures continue to drop.
“The lowest temperature on Saturday was recorded at minus 3.6 degrees Celsius and the lowest temperature from Sunday morning was minus 12 C, 8.4 degrees lower than the previous day,” said the Seoul Metropolitan Government in a press release. “The city government decided to keep the cold wave watch issued on Saturday to counter possible damage that could arise due to the sudden low temperatures.”
In Seoul, temperatures on Sunday are expected to reach minus 12 C, with highs up to minus 6 C. The Korea Meteorological Administration also predicted that while temperatures will begin to crawl back up after Sunday, the lowest temperatures on Monday and Tuesday would still be in the negatives. On Monday and Tuesday, temperatures could hit lows of minus 11 C and minus 6 C, with highs of minus 2 C and 3 C, respectively.
From Saturday, the Seoul government began to operate situation rooms with 25 other district offices. Currently, 197 24-hour safety personnel are on standby until further notice. For vulnerable populations like homeless individuals, older adults living alone and residents of "jjokbang" or subdivided one-room dwellings, the city government has provided temporary shelter, checked the safety of such vulnerable individuals and provided free meals.
Additionally, 3,890 facilities to counter the cold weather have been installed across the city, including windproof tents and heated benches in places with high foot traffic, such as crosswalks and bus stops.
While no injuries were reported over the weekend, three government water meters in Seoul suffered damage due to the cold weather.
Meanwhile, there were several other reports of damage due to the cold weather outside of Seoul over the weekend. On Saturday at 10 p.m., cracks were discovered on an outer window of a KTX-Sancheon train heading toward Gwangmyeong Station from Cheonan-Asan Station. As KTX trains are equipped with inner and outer windows, no passengers sustained any injuries.
From Saturday until 9 a.m. Sunday, 28 reports of damage due to strong winds were reported to the Incheon Fire Department, including building facades being torn down and rooftop structures blowing away. Over the weekend, wind gusts in Incheon reached speeds as high as 18.5 meters per second.
Average morning temperatures in Korea on Monday are expected to range between minus 18 C and minus 3 C. In comparison, the maximum temperatures are expected to range from minus 4 C to 4 C. Temperatures in metropolitan areas and the central region will be below zero even during the day.
