Fine Dust Advisory Issued in Seoul

On December 27 last year, when fine dust levels were classified as 'bad,' the urban area viewed from Inwangsan Mountain in Seoul appeared hazy. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] The Korea Environment Corporation announced on the 6th at 6 p.m. that an ultrafine dust advisory has been issued for Seoul.

According to the corporation, the 1-hour average concentration of ultrafine dust in the Seoul area is currently 83㎍ (micrograms, one-millionth of a gram)/㎥.

An ultrafine dust advisory is issued when the hourly average concentration of ultrafine dust remains above 75㎍/㎥ for 2 consecutive hours.

When the concentration of ultrafine dust or fine dust in the air increases, elderly people, children, patients with respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular patients should refrain from outdoor activities.

Healthy adults are also advised to reduce outdoor activity time as much as possible and wear masks when going outside.

In particular, ultrafine dust is about one-thirtieth the thickness of a hair strand, so it is not filtered in the respiratory tract and penetrates directly into the alveoli, making it more harmful to the human body than fine dust, thus requiring caution.