1st Dust Storms of the Autumn Hit Korea

The first dust storms this autumn on Tuesday reduced air quality to between "bad" and "very bad" as fine dust particles blanketed skies all day.

Air pollution alerts were issued in Seoul and most other parts of the country.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration, dust from northern China and the Gobi Desert was blown east by a pressure front passing through the Korean Peninsula from Tuesday morning. It caused PM10 fine dust pollution to soar to 228 ㎍/㎥ in Seoul, 324 ㎍/㎥ in the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, 330 ㎍/㎥ in North Gyeongsang Province and 322 ㎍/㎥ in South Gyeongsang Province.

Any level above 80 ㎍/㎥ is considered bad and more than 150 ㎍/㎥ is very bad and carries a threat of respiratory problems for almost everyone.

But winds in the afternoon have cleared the air to some extent, so fine dust levels across the nation will be normal to good on Wednesday.

The KMA said snow starts to fall on the Gobi Desert in October, making sand storms rare during this time of year, but temperatures in China declined more gradually this year and reduced snowfall.