South Korea: Blizzard slows down Seoul as city records heaviest snowfall in 100 years

The South Korean capital of Seoul is witnessing its heaviest snowfall in a century. With Christmas right around the corner, the city is blanketed under thick snow as winters set in.

Korea Meteorological Administration said that 6.5 inches of snow fell on Wednesday by 7 am. The last time Seoul saw its heaviest snowfall was in 1972 at 4.88 inches. But this year’s snowfall is the heaviest blizzard the country has seen since records began in 1907.

Snow, snow everywhere

Flight operations have been hit by the winter storm with at least 220 planes being grounded at airports across the country. Authorities have also ordered about 90 ferries to remain at the port while hundreds of trekking trails have been shut down.

President Yoon Suk Yeol instructed the safety and transport ministries to deploy all available personnel and resources to prevent traffic accidents and other snow-related incidents. He also urged officials to promptly communicate weather and traffic updates to the public to help minimize snow-related damages and inconveniences, as stated by the presidential office.

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State news agency Yonhap said that the blizzard led to the death of one person while four others were left injured in a five-vehicle accident in the eastern town of Hongcheon as icy road conditions created a risk.

A heavy snow warning urged residents to “refrain from operating vehicles and engaging in outdoor activities” and to “beware of falling trees”.

Such warnings are issued when snowfall accumulates to 20 cm or more within 24 hours.

Why such heavy snowfall this year?

The heavy snowfall was caused by the “significant temperature difference between the sea surface and the cold air,” Youn Ki-han, director at Seoul’s Meteorology Forecast Division, told AFP.

“Over the West Sea, moisture forms, and when cold air from the north moves down as it typically does, if the West Sea is also cold as in previous years, the temperature difference is smaller,” said Youn.

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However, due to the unusually warm temperatures in recent weeks, this difference became more pronounced.

Another factor behind the heavy snowfall, Youn added, is that “the strong snow was consistently carried by the westerly winds, pushing it into the Seoul metropolitan area.”

With inputs from AFP