Cold wave, heavy snowfall disrupt morning traffic in Seoul
SEOUL: A cold wave combined with heavy snowfall overnight created a rush among morning commuters in South Korea’s capital city yesterday, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Seoul recorded minus 15 degrees Celsius in the morning after receiving 3.8 centimetres of snow as of 9pm Wednesday, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration.
The suburbs of Gwacheon and Hanam also received 11.6 cm and 9 cm of snow, respectively.
Subways were packed well before 7am, and buses crawled on icy roads.
“I left home an hour earlier than usual and was surprised to see how crowded the subway was,” a 30-year-old officer worker surnamed Kim said.
“It looks like people left their cars at home because of the bad road conditions.”
There were reports of serious traffic congestion Wednesday night as the roads piled up with the sudden snowfall. Minor car accidents were also reported.
The Seoul city government said it will extend the early morning schedules of buses and subways to facilitate travel.
Trains were delayed at some overground subway stations as doors got stuck in the freezing cold. A cold wave warning went into effect in Seoul on Wednesday night for the first time since Jan 23, 2018.
The warning was already issued for many areas in Gyeonggi, Gangwon, Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang provinces at 9pm Tuesday, followed by other areas Wednesday, including Incheon, west of Seoul.
The warning is issued when the morning low is below minus 15 degrees Celsius for more than two consecutive days, or when the temperature drops sharply and major damage is expected. Mountainous areas of Jeju also came under a cold wave warning for the first time since the nation introduced such alert systems in 1964.
The weather agency issued heavy snow advisories for Seoul, Jeju and almost all provinces of the country. The KMA explained that the upcoming cold spell will be caused by a southward inflow of cold air from near Siberia. Temperatures will remain below the 30-year averages until next Tuesday and return to the seasonal averages next Wednesday, it said. — Bernama