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| Masked foreign tourists walk down a street in Myeongdong, Seoul, Sunday, amid high levels of fine dust reported nationwide. / Yonhap |
By Kim Hyun-bin
Thick fine dust blanketed most parts of the nation Sunday, forcing the government to take measures to reduce its levels in Seoul and the surrounding areas.
According to the Korean Meteorological Agency (KMA) the situation won't get any better today, as fine dust concentration levels are forecast to be higher nationwide.
This was the first time this year that the government has taken reduction measures; it last took the action Nov. 7 last year.
According to the Ministry of Environment, the level of fine dust in Seoul was measured at 126 micrograms per cubic meter (㎍/㎥) as of 2 p.m., with Gangseo-gu logging 150. The average levels in Gyeonggi Province and Incheon stood at 130 and 122, respectively.
Reduction measures are taken when fine dust levels exceed 50 ㎍/㎥ for two consecutive days.
On Saturday, the fine dust concentration level in the capital was 72 ㎍/㎥, with 60㎍/㎥ in Incheon, and 81㎍/㎥ in Gyeonggi Province, the ministry said.
It enforced the emergency reduction measures from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday for these areas with the exception of Yeoncheon, Gapyeong and Yangpyeong in Gyeonggi Province.
Frustrated with the continuous poor air quality, people have urged the government to come up with better countermeasures to tackle the fine dust issue.
"We can't go outdoors or ventilate the house. The fine dust has negative effects on our everyday life. The Moon Jae-in administration needs to come up with better measures to reduce fine dust," said Chung, a housewife in her mid-30s.
Power plants in the affected areas have limited their output to 80 percent of normal operations as they generate a large amount of fine dust in their emissions.
Fourteen oil- and coal-fired plants in Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong provinces have reduced their output, and 106 government operated businesses and 441 construction sites have limited operations to reduce dust.
Seven hundred and eighty-six street cleaning trucks will be deployed in the capital and the surrounding regions, while the local councils will order the washing of subways and multi-purpose facilities after operational hours.
To strengthen monitoring of fine dust levels, the affected areas around Seoul will set up an additional 199 fine dust detection devices near highly congested roads and car parks.
The Seoul city government closed its outdoor skating rink as well as canceling other outdoor events ― masks were provided for events that could not be postponed in time.
A compulsory odd/even vehicle operations order and a ban on the use of old diesel vehicles are over 2.5 tons was also issued during the weekend.
The National Institute of Environmental Research says most of the fine dust came from China and contained pollutants.
"Researchers at the Seoul Institute said 50 percent to 60 percent of the fine dust came from China)," Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said in a radio interview, last week.
