(LEAD) Cold wave watch issued across greater Seoul area, Gangwon Province

SEOUL, A cold wave watch was issued for Seoul, some parts of Gyeonggi Province and Gangwon Province on Sunday as temperatures are forecast to fall sharply over the next two days.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said the advisory will be effective from 9 p.m. Sunday.

A cold wave watch is issued when the morning low is expected to remain at minus 12 C or lower for at least two consecutive days, or the morning low is expected to drop by more than 10 C from the previous day to 3 C or under.

Morning temperatures are projected to fall to as low as minus 11 C on Monday. The morning low is expected to be minus 10 in Seoul and Incheon, west of the capital. For the central city of Daejeon and the southern port city of Busan, the morning lows are forecast to be minus 3 C and 1 C, respectively.

From Tuesday, morning temperatures are expected to decline below minus 10 C in most of the country, with day temperatures also expected to stay below zero.

Snow is expected to fall in western coastal areas of South C
hungcheong Province and the southwestern province of Jeolla from Monday morning until Tuesday. The southern resort island of Jeju is forecast to experience snow or rain until Tuesday.

The Seoul city government is set to transition into a 24-hour emergency response mode to address any issues arising from a steep drop in temperatures, officials said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency