Yellow dust covered South Korea on Wednesday, raising ultrafine dust concentration levels to “bad” in most parts of the country, excluding the southern region.
Although an ultrafine dust warning was not issued as of press time, the KMA added that the air carrying yellow dust and ultrafine dust into the Korean Peninsula has been moving slowly, with a high likelihood stagnation.
Due to high yellow dust concentrations and ongoing fine dust accumulationd from both domestic and foreign sources, the “bad” fine dust levels are expected to continue nationwide until Thursday.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Ministry of Environment, yellow dust originating from northeastern China was carried into the Korean Peninsula by northwesterly winds early Wednesday morning, affecting the Greater Seoul region.
“Though most of the yellow dust is expected to pass through North Korea before moving out toward the East Sea, some was carried into the West Sea, gradually affecting the Greater Seoul area (Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province) first,” said KMA official Woo Jin-kyu.
As of 10 a.m., most of Korea, excluding South Jeolla Province, South Gyeongsang Province and Jeju Island had recorded “bad” ultrafine dust levels, according to the National Institute of Environmental Research. However, the KMA added that as more yellow dust moves into Korea throughout the day, southern parts of South Korea can expect to see an increase in ultrafine dust levels from Wednesday afternoon.
South Jeolla Province and South Gyeongsang Province could see “bad” ultrafine dust levels from Wednesday afternoon, while Jeju Island could see a high concentration of fine dust from Wednesday night.
lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com
