Bitter cold sweeps across S. Korea with feels-like temperatures reaching -20 degrees Celsius

’서울 체감 영하 20도’ 올겨울 최강 한파 서해안 30㎝ 안팎 폭설 The whole country is under a cold wave today with heavy snowfall on the west coast and in the south. Our Lee Soo-jin is live in Gwanghwamun, Seoul. Soojin, what’s it like there? How cold? In short, Jung-min? Very. The arctic cold wave has swept across the nation and it feels like the entire country is stuck in a freezer. Right now the temperature is *** degrees Celsius. Morning temperatures in Seoul on Thursday morning plummeted to minus 14 degrees Celsius marking the coldest morning this winter so far. And the feels-like temperatures dropped to minus 22-point-3 degrees Celsius. Even on Jeju Island located in the far south of the Korean Peninsula, temperatures there have fallen below zero degrees. The highest daytime temperatures in the majority of the country were below zero and this cold is expected to continue until Saturday morning. Let’s take a listen to how cold people in Seoul are feeling. “I didn’t really notice the cold up to two days ago but today my ears and nose feel like they’re frozen.“ “ We arrived in Seoul in the 18th of December and I think today is the coldest.“ Well, just earlier you mentioned Jeju. So, what about other parts of the country? Well Jung-min, the bitter cold winter season is definitely being felt by the entire country. Heavy snowfall warnings are in effect for the west coast of Chungcheongnam-do Province and the Jeolla-do provinces. There have also been many reports of water meters freezing. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Thursday, as of 11 PM on Wednesday, a total of 72 cases had been reported including 26 in Seoul, 37 in Gyeonggi-do Province, and three in Incheon. Earlier, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety also upped its heavy snow warning level from “caution“ to “alert“ starting at 8 PM on Wednesday, raising the emergency response from level 1 to level 2. Heavy snow is continued to be in the forecast for western coastal areas and the southern resort island of Jeju Island, where heavy snow of up to 30 centimeters is expected until Thursday night. Over on Hallasan Mountain on Jeju Island, there was an accumulation of snow of up to 53-point-6 centimeters from yesterday until 1 PM today and access to all seven trails around the mountain have been closed off. At Jeju International Airport, a total of 77 flights have been delayed due to the strong wind warnings. The slippery roads have already led to accidents. At 3:30 AM on Thursday nine vehicles including a cargo truck and an intercity bus collided on a highway in Chungcheongnam-do Province leaving the driver dead and 10 injured. At 5:37 AM in Jeju Island, a car skidded into a ditch and injured the driver. The KMA says the severe cold will continue until Saturday morning, while the interior ministry has vowed to minimize damage from heavy snowfall and respond thoroughly by mobilizing all available resources. That’s all I have for now. Back to you, Jung-min. Our Lee Soo-jin live from Gwanghamun Square. Thank you. #SouthKorea #Weather #Temperature #freeze #cold_wave #cold_snap #heavy_snowfall #winter #한파 #날씨 #폭설 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-12-21, 18:00 (KST)