Weather

Over 200 flights canceled in Japan amid record cold spell

Tokyo, Jan 24 (EFE).- More than 200 flights were canceled Tuesday morning in Japan due to the most severe cold wave in the country in a decade, causing very low temperatures and heavy snowfall.

Until 1 pm, a total of 208 domestic flights were canceled, with those coming from or going to the airports located near the Sea of Japan (west) being especially affected. The main airlines have warned of the possibility of more cancellations.

The northern and western regions of the country witnessed heavy snowfall on Tuesday, and the snowstorm is expected to cover a large area in the next few hours from Tuesday night until Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) warned.

The cold front resulted in minimum temperatures ranging from -12 degrees Celsius in Sapporo (north of Japan) to -4 degrees in Tokyo and other central and western regions of the country, JMA reported.

JMA further stated that the cold wave will intensify until Thursday and some areas of Japan could register the lowest temperatures in a decade, which could lead to snowfall in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka too.

Authorities advised people to avoid going out of their houses except in emergencies since the low temperatures could freeze water pipes and cause frost to form on road surfaces.

The Hokuriku region (center) could witness up to 90 centimeters of snow in the next few hours, while the Kanto-Koshin region in eastern and central Japan and Kinki and Choguko regions in western Japan could observe up to 70 cm of snow.

South Korea, where the authorities have issued a weather alert as of Monday night, is also impacted by the cold wave.

In Seoul, the thermometer wavered between -12 and -18 degrees, while the minimum hovered around -15 degrees in central regions of the country. EFE

emg-yk/ss/ia

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