Seoul has recorded its heaviest November snowfall since records began over a century ago in 1907.
The South Korean capital was covered with at least 16 cm of snow on Wednesday – beating the city’s previous record of 12.4cm from November 1972.
It caused significant disruption across the country, with local media reporting that flights had been grounded, roads closed, and that there were delays to transport services.
At least one person is reported to have died in a weather-related traffic accident near Seoul.
(EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Gyeongbokgung Palace in downtown Seoul was dusted with snow (EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Traffic accidents have been caused by the icy conditions (EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)
Youn Ki-han, the head of Seoul’s Meteorology Forecast Division, told the AFP news agency that the heavy snowfall was due to strong westerly winds and a “significant temperature difference between the sea surface and the cold air”.
It is expected to continue through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
The cold weather comes after the region experienced a period of mild autumn temperatures.
“Just last week, I felt that the November autumn was a bit warm, but in just one week it feels like it’s turned into a winter wonderland, which was quite a contrast,” said businessman Bae Joo-han.
“So I came out onto the streets today to enjoy the first snowfall of this winter.”
The first snow of the season was also the heaviest November snowfall since modern weather observations began in 1907 (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
(Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Some flight schedules were impacted by the weather. (AFP via Getty Images)
Continuous heavy rainfall and upstream inflows have triggered severe flooding in two counties of Guizhou Province in southwest China, prompting mass evacuations.
As of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, 48,900 residents were temporarily evacuated in Rongjiang County and 32,000 in Congjiang County. The flood control emergency response has been escalated to Level I, the highest, in both counties.
Rongjiang, a county known for Cun Chao — a rural football league covering over 100 village teams and drawing numerous fans across the country, saw heavy rainstorms from 8 p.m. Monday, with a venue at the Duliu River exceeding the warning level by 6.68 meters as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.
The football field at the Cun Chao stadium was submerged under three meters of water.
Long Tian, a resident near the stadium, recalled that when he woke up at 8 a.m. Tuesday, the water downstairs was already thigh-deep.
“The water rose very quickly, so I stayed on the third floor waiting for rescue. By the afternoon, I had been transferred to safety,” Long said.
Rescue teams, including firefighters and volunteers, deployed boats and other equipment for the rescue work in the two counties.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the provincial emergency department had allocated disaster relief items, including 30,000 bottles of drinking water and 10,000 bowls of instant noodles, to the two counties via high-speed rail and road transport.
Also in Guizhou, rain-triggered landslides caused the collapse of part of a bridge on an expressway in the county of Sandu. No casualties have been reported so far.
The Israeli government has said it agreed to the ceasefire proposal after “achieving the objectives” of its attacks on Iran. According to the statement, Israel has removed Iran’s “dual immediate existential threat” from nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
It also says Israel has “inflicted severe damage on the military leadership, and destroyed dozens of central Iranian government targets”.
The statement goes on to say that Israeli forces, in the last day, have “severely struck government targets in the heart of Tehran, eliminating hundreds of Basij operatives” – a militia the Iranian government often uses to suppress protests – and “eliminating another senior nuclear scientist”.
“Israel thanks President Trump and the United States for their support in defence and their participation in eliminating the Iranian nuclear threat,” the statement adds.
Earlier, Iran state TV news channel IRINN says a ceasefire has been “imposed” on Israel following the “successful” Iranian attack on the US base in Qatar.
State TV said in a statement that Trump “begged” for a ceasefire following Iran’s attack. The statement was read aloud by the presenter.
The statement also hailed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Army and praised the “resistance” of Iranians.
The statement also called Iran’s attack on the US base in Qatar as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “successful” response to the US attacking three Iranian nuclear sites, while Qatar said all missiles were intercepted.
US President Donald Trump has announced a “complete and total” ceasefire between Israel and Iran on social media.
Trump says the ceasefire will begin “in approximately six hours from now” after each country has “wound down” their military operations.
Trump’s announcement contains a periodic unravelling of hostilities but says that “upon the 24th hour” the war will officially end.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, has posted on X saying there is “no agreement of any ceasefire or cessation of military operations.”
“”As Iran has repeatedly made clear: Israel launched war on Iran, not the other way around…However, provided that the Israeli regime stops its illegal aggression against the Iranian people no later than 4 am Tehran time, we have no intention to continue our response afterwards,: he has added.
“The final decision on the cessation of our military operations will be made later,” he has further said.
Meanwhile, Reuters have reported citing a senior White House official as saying that President Donald Trump brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran through talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday while his team, including Vice President JD Vance, held talks with Tehran.
The official, providing details of the ceasefire on condition of anonymity, has said Israel agreed to it so long as Iran does not launch fresh attacks.