External sources account for 75 pct of S. Korea's fine dust pollution
17:57, 6 February 2019
SEOUL. KAZINFORM External sources accounted for 75 percent of South Korea's ultrafine dust air pollution in January, a state-run environment agency said Wednesday.
South Korea saw a drastic rise in the average level of ultrafine dust particles, those smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, in between Jan. 11 and 15. According to the National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), a think tank under the Ministry of Environment, external sources from China, Mongolia, North Korea and Japan were responsible for 75 percent of ultrafine dust particles in South Korea during that period, YONHAP reported.
During the Jan. 11-15 period, South Korea's cubic meter concentration of ultrafine dust was above 36 micrograms, which authorities classify as "bad" air quality.