Amid an unusually warm winter, Seoul saw the coldest day of the season Thursday, with the morning low in the capital recorded at minus 11.8 degrees Celsius. 

The temperature, registered at 6:34 a.m., marks the lowest since November last year, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration. The current cold spell is expected to continue until Friday morning,

Many other cities in the country’s central region also had their record lowest temperatures, with Incheon at minus 10 C, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, at minus 11.9 C, Daejeon at minus 10.5, Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, at minus 12.8 and Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, at minus 10.

The temperatures in mountainous areas such as Daegwallyeong and Cheorwon in Gangwon Province dropped to as low as minus 24 C and minus 17.7 C, respectively.

Relatively warmer areas in the country’s southern region also recorded subzero temperatures, with Busan at minus 5 C, Ulsan at minus 6.8 C, Gwangju at minus 7 C and Jeonju at minus 9.2 C.

Cold wave alerts were still in place in inland areas in the country’s central and southern regions as of Thursday afternoon.

This winter’s strongest cold wave has gripped the country since Wednesday, though the country had its warmest January on record this year.



(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)