Seoul, Oct 16 (IANS): Cold wave alerts were issued for most of South Korea on Saturday as an Arctic air mass brought an unseasonably cold weather, the state weather agency said.

The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said that cold wave warnings will take effect for about a dozen central cities and counties at 9 p.m., while Seoul and most other parts of the country will be under cold wave advisories, reports Yonhap News Agency.

It will be the first time in 17 years that a cold wave alert has been issued for Seoul in October.

The cold wave advisory and warning are issued when the morning low is expected to be below minus 12 degrees Celsius and minus 15 degrees Celsius, respectively, for more than two consecutive days, or when major damage is expected due to a sharp drop in temperature.

The morning low ranged from 11 degrees Celsius to 12 degrees Celsius across the country and the mercury is expected to be from 11 degrees Celsius and 20 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, according to the KMA.

On Sunday, the temperature is forecast to be from minus 3 degrees Celsius to 7 degrees Celsius in the morning and from 10 degrees Celsius to 16 degrees Celsius in the afternoon.

In Seoul, the morning low is forecast to drop to zero on Sunday, the lowest for mid-October since October 19, 1957.

The unseasonable cold snap came as the Arctic chill from the North Pole descends to South Korea and the subtropical high pressure goes away, the weather agency has said.

The chilly weather is expected to continue for about a week, the agency added.