Seoul will issue its first water meter “freeze warning” of the winter starting at 9 a.m. Thursday, as temperatures are forecast to plunge to as low as minus 12 degrees Celsius, while city officials also warned of a heightened risk of hypothermia and frostbite during the sudden cold snap. The freeze warning corresponds to the third-highest level in the city’s four-stage water meter freeze forecasting system, which ranges from “attention” and “caution” to “warning” and “serious,” the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Wednesday. The city will operate a 24-hour emergency response situation room and activate an urgent repair system in coordination with its eight waterworks offices and the Seoul Facilities Corp. As of Dec. 23, Seoul had recorded 242 cases of frozen water meters this winter. Apartments accounted for the majority with 199 cases, followed by 24 cases at construction sites and 15 single-family and low-rise multiunit homes. City officials warned that corridor-style apartment buildings without windbreak windows and construction sites are especially vulnerable,