Cold Wave Advisory Lifted
Overview
Lifting a cold wave advisory (한파주의보 해제) is the measure by which the Korea Meteorological Administration (기상청) terminates the effect of the advisory for areas under it when temperatures are expected to recover to or above the issuance criteria. Judgment at the time of lifting is as important as the issuance of the advisory, and even after it is lifted, residual cold effects and recovery work from facility damage continue.
Main Content
Cold Wave Special Weather Advisory System
The Korea Meteorological Administration issues cold wave advisories and cold wave warnings when damage from cold waves is expected. A cold wave advisory is issued when the morning minimum temperature is expected to plunge by 10℃ or more compared with the previous day to 3℃ or below, or when the morning minimum temperature is expected to remain at -12℃ or below for two days or more. A cold wave warning is issued when the plunge is 15℃ or more, or when the morning minimum temperature is expected to remain at -15℃ or below for two days or more. However, considering regional and seasonal variations, criteria are subdivided and operated by region.
Criteria for Lifting
Lifting is judged in the reverse direction of the issuance criteria. It is carried out when the trend of temperatures recovering above the threshold is clear, consistency among numerical forecast models is secured, and the possibility of the cold wave continuing is judged to have effectively disappeared. It is common to first lower the level step by step (replacement) from a cold wave warning to a cold wave advisory, and then lift it completely. If the lifting time is early, citizens' response may loosen and damage may increase; if late, unnecessary tension and administrative burden continue, so the forecaster's judgment burden is heavy.
Issuance Procedure and Dissemination System
Advisories are issued by the Korea Meteorological Administration's National Meteorological Center and are simultaneously disseminated through disaster text messages (CBS), the Korea Meteorological Administration's Weather Nuri, media reports, and local government disaster and safety countermeasure headquarters channels. Notice of lifting is also given through the same channels, and local governments, after confirming the lifting, adjust their emergency duty levels for cold wave response and gradually reduce systems for visiting vulnerable groups and checking on their well-being.
Precautions After Lifting
Lifting does not mean safety. Even immediately after lifting, early morning temperatures often remain below freezing, and delayed damage occurs, such as black ice from melted snow refreezing at night, frozen water pipes, frozen meters, cold damage to crops, and cold damage to livestock sheds and vinyl greenhouses. Facility managers should maintain insulation measures even after lifting and should avoid using hot water abruptly when thawing frozen pipes.
Social and Economic Significance
The lifting of a cold wave advisory acts as a signal for normalizing school attendance, resuming work at construction sites, normalizing aviation and maritime operations, and adjusting energy supply and demand plans. In conjunction with the point when the surge in electricity demand subsides, it also affects the Korea Power Exchange's adjustment of supply and demand response levels, and the distribution and logistics industry uses it as a criterion for establishing plans to resolve delivery delays.
Latest Trends
In the winters of 2024–2025, as increased temperature variability due to climate change became prominent, a tendency toward repeated issuance and lifting of advisories at short intervals was observed. The Korea Meteorological Administration is refining its winter advisory operation criteria and expanding Impact-based Forecast to strengthen lifting judgments that reflect perceived temperature and the possibility of damage, not just simple temperature figures. In addition, discussions are continuing to improve the sending criteria and wording of advisory lifting notifications in order to reduce fatigue caused by repeated disaster text messages, and local governments are increasingly operating cold wave damage recovery and facility inspection plans in connection with the post-lifting period. Attempts are also underway to integrate cold wave advisory lifting information with heat wave and heavy snow advisory systems for unified management.
Related Topics
- [[Cold Wave Advisory]]
- [[Cold Wave Warning]]
- [[Special Weather Advisory]]
- [[Black Ice]]
- [[Korea Meteorological Administration]]