Seoul, Oct 15 (IANS): Temperatures are forecast to drop sharply this coming weekend to a 64-year low for Seoul due to an unseasonable cold snap, the state weather agency said on Friday.

The unseasonable cold snap across the country is expected to continue for about a week as the Arctic chill from the North Pole descends to South Korea and the subtropical high pressure, which had created the unusually warm weather this fall, goes away, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA).

The morning low is forecast to fall to 1 degree Celsius in the capital on Sunday, compared with Friday's 17 degrees Celsius.

It would mark the lowest for mid-October since October 19, 1957, when temperatures fell to minus 0.4 degree Celsius, Yonhap News Agency.

The lowest-ever for mid-October was minus 1.1 degree Celsius recorded on October 20, 1956, according to the KMA.

Saturday's temperatures are expected to be around 12 degrees Celsius for Seoul, it said.

Other regions will also see the mercury fall sharply, the agency said.

With a steep fall in temperatures, the KMA said it will likely issue cold wave alerts in Seoul and most parts of South Korea.

The cold wave alert is issued when the minimum temperature dives 10 degrees or more over a day to below 3 degrees.