Record-high air pollution is affecting South Korea this winter. Air quality should remain ” bad ” over almost the entire country – with the exception of Jeju Island (southwest) – until the return of rain on Friday, the National Meteorological Administration reported on Monday, January 9, which recommends avoiding outdoor activities and wearing masks in case of imperative exit. The “poor” classification corresponds to a level of particles between 81 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) and 150 µg/m3.
The phenomenon peaked on the morning of January 7: the daily average concentration of ultrafine particles PM2.5 was 86 µg/m3while that of PM10 fine particles was 143 µg/m3 across the country, according to Air Korea, an agency of the Ministry of Environment. These figures far exceed the 2021 averages of 18 and 36 µg/m respectively.3.
Reacting to these announcements, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo called “Ministries and local governments to implement emergency measures”. The operating hours of the most polluting public facilities, such as waste incinerators, have been modified, as have those of construction sites, which are also forced to use covers preventing the spread of particles. Provincial authorities are stepping up street cleaning. The Ministry of the Environment has announced the use of drones to monitor the application of the measures.
Special law
The phenomenon is not exceptional in South Korea, where this pollution is caused, among other things, by coal-fired power plants – which generated 26% of the country’s electricity in 2021 –, coal-fired heaters and diesel vehicles, but also by polluted clouds “imported” from China. A 2019 report jointly produced by China, South Korea and Japan – which also suffers from pollution from China – revealed that China’s contribution to the pollution of major cities in South Korea was 32%. The situation is particularly sensitive in the Seoul metropolitan area, which has a population of 25 million, nearly half of the country’s population.
Faced with this problem, the authorities are increasing their announcements to get closer to the objectives of the World Health Organization, for which “chronic exposure to particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and lung cancer” and which recommends since 2021 levels in the atmosphere of PM2.5 not exceeding 5 µg/m3. In 2018, the government passed a special law on the reduction and management of these particles, with a reduction target of 15 µg/m3. In 2015, the average of this pollution reached 26 µg/m3.
You have 38.78% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.