January 23, 2025
SEOUL – Most of South Korea was covered by thick, ultrafine dust for the second consecutive day Wednesday, with such conditions forecast to continue until Thursday, according to the National Institute of Environmental Research.
The NIER announced that the density of ultrafine dust particles is forecast to remain at “bad” levels nationwide until Thursday, excluding some eastern coastal regions in Gangwon Province and southern parts of Jeju Island.
The persistently high concentration levels of ultrafine dust are due to atmospheric stagnation, allowing fine dust generated domestically and flowing in from abroad to continue to accumulate in the air, according to the research institute.
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday, ultrafine dust warnings were issued nationwide excluding the southern parts of South Gyeongsang Province and South Jeolla Province. Warnings are issued for dust particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter — also known as PM 2.5. South Korea classifies PM 2.5 above 35 micrograms per cubic meter as “bad” fine dust levels, while the World Health Organization recommends keeping levels below 25 micrograms.
Nine local governments, including those in the Greater Seoul area of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, as well as the Chungcheong provinces and North Jeolla Province, launched emergency emission reduction measures as of 6 a.m. Wednesday.
In such regions, the Ministry of Environment ordered a reduction in coal power plant and factory operations, as well as a road ban for old diesel cars and an alternate no-driving system for public vehicles. Such emergency measures are expected to last until 9 p.m. of the same day but could continue into Thursday depending on the ultrafine dust forecast.
According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, air quality levels are forecast to be bad across Korea until Thursday.
As Korea falls under a high-pressure system currently lingering over the northern parts of China, northerly winds are expected to blow into the country, pushing the fine dust away.
From Friday, most parts of the country can expect to see low levels of fine dust with the exclusion of Gwangju, South Chungcheong Province and North Jeolla Province, which may continue to see bad ultrafine dust levels until Friday. As atmospheric diffusion effectively occurs over the weekend, low ultrafine dust concentration levels will begin to be observed nationwide from Saturday, according to the NIER.