[Beijing Diary] Chunrae Bulsachun

China's weather and air quality become quite a hot topic in Korea every spring. Due to the fine dust and yellow dust issues that directly impact the sky color in Korea from China, there is already a lot of attention. Recently, Lee Jae-yong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who visited Beijing to attend the China Development High-Level Forum, attracted even more attention by leaving a single line of comment to the press: "The weather is very good." In fact, except for the few days he was in China, the weather in Beijing was at its worst due to yellow dust. The hazy and acrid sky seen in most parts of Korea was the same here.

In Korea, the cause of the unusually worsened air quality this spring is attributed to China's 'With-Corona' policy. The logic is that as geographically close China normalized economic activities and restarted factories, fine dust is drifting over to Korea. However, the concentration of ultrafine dust in China during January and February this year, when the transition to With-Corona was in full swing, increased by only 8.5% compared to the previous year (according to China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment). Although it is true that the air quality worsened compared to last year, it is not to a remarkable extent (assuming the figures released by China are trustworthy). China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in March was 51.9, exceeding the baseline (50) and continuing the economic expansion phase, but it declined compared to the previous month (52.6). Therefore, blaming factory operations alone as the culprit lacks solid evidence.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Experts are rather finding the cause in accelerated climate change. The dust that recently covered the Korean Peninsula is known to be a sandstorm originating from northern China and Mongolia. The main reason for the severity and increased frequency is the rise in desert temperatures and a sharp decrease in precipitation. The 'accumulated snow,' which played a role in covering and preventing the scattering of sand dust, also melted earlier than usual due to higher temperatures. In fact, abnormal high temperatures are appearing nationwide. According to the China Meteorological Administration, regions such as Hohhot, Shenyang, Changchun, and Hefei recorded near 30 degrees Celsius in mid-last month, marking record high temperatures. On the 29th of the same month, the Meteorological Administration announced, calling it 'sad news,' that this year’s weather anomalies and abnormal climate events will occur more frequently than usual.

The weather in Beijing, which Chairman Lee described as "very good," recently evokes the old saying "Chunrae Bulsachun" (spring comes but spring does not truly arrive) in another sense. Until last year, cherry blossoms on the Great Wall would bloom fully between mid and late March, but now they have withered early and remain sparse and weak. China's seasons have skipped spring and gone straight to summer. In Korea, spring is getting shorter, but in China, it truly feels like spring just "passes by."

As China reaches the final stages of lifting policy-based quarantine measures, mask-free life is being allowed in most regions nationwide. Recently, in areas such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, people can ride the subway without masks, and no one is forced to wear masks outdoors. However, personally, I have been more diligently wearing masks recently compared to the end of last year. Although spring has come, it feels as if spring has not arrived; even though masks are not required, one cannot help but wear them.