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The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) announced comprehensive measures to improve accuracy in forecasting sandstorms on Friday. According to the KMA plan, an additional five joint sandstorm observatories between Korea and China will be established until the end of this year in places where such storms start and along their paths such as Manchuria and the border areas between North Korea and China. Some six observatories will be also set up in inland areas of Gangwon and Gyeongsang Province, which have been blind spots in observing sandstorms. Measures will be pursued actively to build sandstorm observatories in Kaesong and Mt.Kumgang in North Korea.
ˇ°We sent a sand storm research team to China on April 14 and made an agreement with our Chinese counterparts that sandstorm observatories will be set up in five places -- Qingdao, Dandong, Chifeng, Siping and Erlianhaote,ˇ± said Lee Man-ki, the head of the KMA. Currently, the KMA has sandstorm observatories jointly run with China in Zhurihe, Yushe, Tongliao, Dalian and Huimin.
Inland areas in Gangwon and Gyeongsang Province --Sokcho, Chuncheon, Wonju, Andong, Daegu and Jinju -- will be armed with PM10 observatory devices, which are able to measure density of dust particles of less than 10 § in diameter (1 § is one-millionth of a meter) in the atmosphere. The nation currently has 21 sandstorm observatories including 17 PM10 observatories and four Lidar (light detection and ranging) observatories where the altitudes of sandstorms and their depth are measured. As most of them are located near the west coast, the nation has faced problems with measuring overall density of sandstorms.
ˇ°Sandstorms which cross North Korea to hit South Korea account for some 10 percent of the total,ˇ± Lee said. ˇ°So we agreed with the Unification Ministry to add sandstorm observation devices to automatic weather stations to be built in the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt. Kumgang.ˇ±
The KMA announced it will double the number of forecasts about sandstorm density on the Korean Peninsula and their expected paths to four times a day and increase the number of forecasters specializing in sandstorm movement analysis from the current one to three to improve forecasting capability.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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