Fine Dust Cloud from China Fills Seoul’s Sky

Winter is here, and dust clouds from coal, China’s main source of heat, have filled Seoul’s sky, painting it gray. 

The levels of carcinogens in the dust is impossible to measure. It is estimated that 8 percent of deaths in the city of Seoul are caused by respiratory disorders. 
Living with dust is an inevitable fate that Korea faces as China continues to further its industrialization.

Dealing with spring’s yellow dust and winter’s particulate matter has been recurring annually throughout Korea’s history. In books dating back to the Chosun Dynasty and the Age of Three Kingdoms, yellow dust was documented. 

The government has decided to implement preventive measures, and plans to achieve air purification comparable to that of other countries with an advanced air control system by 2015.  But it is a tall order, because China’s particulate matter has become more serious than originally predicted. The only alternative seems to be to increase awareness of its dangers and ask for international help in battling desertification.