Health warning issued as dust storm blankets Korean Peninsula

Parts of Beijing's central business district are shrouded in a dust storm on May 4, 2017. / AFP-Yonhap

By Park Si-soo

The authorities have issued a nationwide health warning on Saturday as a huge dust storm generated in Mongolia has blanketed much of the Korean Peninsula.

The National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER) has issued fine dust warnings in 12 cities and counties nationwide as of 7:30 a.m., including Seoul and surrounding regions. The dust storm will affect the peninsula throughout the weekend, according to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA)

The warning is issued when an hourly average dust concentration of more than 300 micrograms per cubic meter (㎍/㎥) is expected to last for more than two hours. The concentration of more than 150 ㎍/㎥ lasting longer than two hours leads to an advisory.

The institute has demanded people avoid outdoor activities and children and old people stay indoors throughout the weekend.

The huge smothering dust storm was generated in Mongolia and gripped northeastern China on Friday, dragging down Beijing’s air quality to a warning level.

Spring is China’s dust-storm season, when winds whip across the Gobi Desert picking up fine sand and dust particles and dumping them along a belt of heavily populated cities further south. Some storms stretch down to the Korean Peninsula, posing a health risk to many people.