Han River freezes earliest in 71 years

Some parts of the Han River are frozen in Seoul, Friday, after subzero temperatures over the past few days. / Korea Times photo by Shin Sang-soon

/ Yonhap

By Jung Min-ho

Subzero temperatures that have continued for most of the week froze some parts of Seoul's Han River, according to the weather agency, Friday.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said it confirmed the first ice formation on the river that day, 42 days earlier than the first ice of last winter, which appeared Jan. 26 of this year.

It also marked the earliest ice formation on the river since Dec. 12, 1946.

The KMA declares the river as "frozen" only when it confirms ice between the Han River Bridge's second and fourth piers, a distance of about 100 meters.

Since the weather agency started observing ice formations on the river in 1906, the earliest ice formation seen on the Han was on Dec. 4, 1934, and the latest on Feb. 13, 1964.

There have been seven times when no ice formation was seen, most recently in 2006.

Meanwhile, the cold spell shows no sign of abating. Temperatures in the city and Gyeonggi Province went down to minus 7 degrees Celsius on Friday morning.

It was colder in Gangwon Province. Temperatures in Chuncheon reached minus 10 degrees at one point.

Except for some parts of South Gyeongsang Province, Jeju Island and Ulleung Island, subzero temperatures continued throughout the morning.

According to the KMA, warmer temperatures are expected today across the country. Morning temperatures will be slightly higher than Friday and increase to near or above zero by late afternoon.

On Sunday, the mercury will plunge again ― to minus 11 degrees in Seoul and to minus 14 degrees in Chuncheon. Only on Jeju Island are temperatures expected to stay above freezing.

The KMA has advised everyone to pay close attention to their health until the end of the cold snap.

Icy weather has already started to disrupt traffic in some cities. On Tuesday, one person was killed and eight were injured in a pileup on the Seohaean Expressway due to slipperiness.

Police have advised drivers to take extra care.

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