Airport reopens after snow strands 86,000 on South Korean island
Airport reopens after snow strands 86,000 on South Korean island
Snow, sleet and icy winds across Asia caused deaths, flight cancellations and chaos over the weekend as areas used to basking in balmier climates struggled with record-low temperatures.
Weather-related deaths were reported in Japan and Taiwan, with hundreds of flights cancelled across the region, tens of thousands of holidaymakers stranded in South Korea, and freezing conditions in sub-tropical Hong Kong causing mayhem on its tallest peak. While the cold snap is by no means on the scale of the weather now affecting the snow-bound eastern US, such temperatures are a novelty for many in the region.
In Bangkok, a city that rarely sees the thermometer dip below 20-25° C (68-77° F), temperatures dropped to around 16° C late Sunday. In Japan five people died and more than 100 were injured Sunday as record-breaking heavy snowfall and low temperatures hit the country’s western and central regions and rare snow fell in subtropical areas. The small subtropical island of Amami observed snow for the first time since 1901, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. In China, 24 weather stations around the country recorded all-time low temperatures between Friday and Sunday. At Eergu’Na in Inner Mongolia, the temperature on Saturday hit a record low of -46.8° C.
Meanwhile, the first flight in three days took off from the South Korean resort island of Jeju on Monday after the biggest snowfall in three decades shut the airport and stranded nearly 90,000 people. The holiday destination recorded its heaviest snowfall as the temperature dropped to -6.1° C (21° F).
