Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
Freezing weather grips nation
By Kim Rahn
The coldest temperatures in more than five decades gripped the nation, forcing elementary schools in and around Seoul to close or shorten classes Thursday.
Morning lows in almost all parts of the Korean Peninsula plummeted to lower than minus 10 degrees centigrade for the second consecutive day due to a cold continental high pressure zone, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).
Seoul’s temperatures reached minus 17.1 degrees in the morning, marking the lowest temperature in 55 years for February, with the previous record being minus 17.3 degrees on Feb. 11 in 1957.
“Due to strong winds, people may have felt colder as if it was about minus 23 degrees,” an official from the KMA said.
Because of the cold weather, 54 elementary schools in Seoul, about 10 percent of the total in the capital, closed for the day, while 140 other schools had shortened classes, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. More than 60 kindergartens also closed.
Today as well, about 30 elementary schools are scheduled to close.
Tuesday’s snow and following cold wave froze roads, with more than 100 people injuring themselves after falling down in Seoul between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters. The agency transferred some 90 people to hospitals for fractured bones, bruises and cuts.
As people used heating apparatuses, the demand for power reached 73.8 million kilowatts at 11 a.m., the largest demand, with the previous record being 73.1 million kilowatts on Jan. 17 last year.
Cold front warnings and alerts were issued across the country. The morning lows in the mountainous county of Cheorwon recorded minus 24.6 degrees, also the lowest for February since 1988 when were weather records started in the region. Many other regions in Gangwon and northern Gyeonggi provinces had new record lows.
Midday highs also remained subzero, with highs being minus 8 degrees in Seoul, minus 9 degrees in Cheorwon, and minus 6 degrees in Incheon.
“The continental high pressure has expanded over the peninsula, and the chill from the North Pole has also come down to reach middle latitudes,” the weatherman said.
The cold accompanied snow in Jeolla provinces, western coastal regions and Jeju Island.
It is forecast that the chill will continue this morning, with lows in Seoul being minus 13 degrees. The weather agency expects the temperature will begin to rise in the afternoon and go up to the average on Saturday, the day of “Ipchun,” one of the 24 seasonal divisions that marks the onset of spring.
It won’t be the signal of warmth though as the cold is likely to grip the nation again next Tuesday after snow or rain nationwide on Monday.
“Such extreme cold weather may reoccur once or twice until the end of the month because the chill from the North Pole will continue having an impact,” the weatherman said.