(LEAD) Weather agency issues first cold wave warning for Seoul in 5 years

(ATTN: UPDATES with flight cancellations in southern resort island of Jeju)

SEOUL, Jan. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's weather agency said Saturday it has issued a cold wave warning for Seoul for the first time in five years.

The Korea Meteorological Administration also issued warnings for other parts of the country, including Gyeonggi Province near Seoul. The warnings went into effect as of 6 p.m.

A cold wave warning is issued if morning lows drop more than 15 degrees compared with the previous day or the temperature falls below minus 15 degrees Celsius for two consecutive days.

The weather agency said the mercury is expected to drop to below minus 18 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

Also Saturday, heavy snow blanketed the southern resort island of Jeju, causing cancellations of nearly 300 flights and leaving about 6,000 travelers stranded at the airport as of 8 p.m.

Most of the travelers could not leave the airport due to a lack of accommodation facilities and buses and taxis.

The Jeju authorities mobilized some 40 chartered buses to transport stranded travelers to hotels and other lodgings in downtown areas, but they are overwhelmed by the number of stranded tourists.

entropy@yna.co.kr
(END)