South Korea gripped by season’s coldest weather

Duck-shaped pleasure boats are docked on the frozen Gongji Stream in the city of Chuncheon, 85 kilometers northeast of Seoul, on Dec. 6, 2019, as South Korea experienced the coldest temperatures so far this winter, with the mercury dropping to minus 11.1 C in the region. (Yonhap)

Seoul: South Korea was in the grip of the season’s coldest weather on Friday morning.

The morning low in Seoul was minus 10.6 C, the lowest this winter and much lower than the 30-year average of minus 1.8 C, the Korea Meteorological Administration said.

The mercury dipped to the season’s lowest across much of the country, including Incheon (minus 9 C), Cheorwon (minus 15.6 C), Daejeon (minus 9.6 C), Gwangju (minus 4.9 C) and Daegu (minus 5.9 C).

The cold was caused by the combination of freezing air flowing from northern China and radiation cooling, which occurs when air near the ground is cooled by the Earth’s surface losing heat by radiation, according to the weather service.

Temperatures are expected to rise above zero in the afternoon in most parts of the country, except some mountainous areas, the agency said.

YONHAP