Fine dust advisories issued across Seoul, central Gyeonggi

SEOUL, Dec. 13 (Yonhap) — Fine dust advisories were issued across Seoul and parts of Gyeonggi Province surrounding the capital Tuesday, authorities said.

The advisories were issued at 4 a.m. for the capital and at 7 a.m. for 11 cities in central Gyeonggi, including Suwon, Bucheon and Ansan, according to city and environment authorities,

The advisory is issued when the hourly average concentration of PM 10 — particles smaller than 10 micrometers in diameter — stays above 150 micrograms per cubic meter for over two hours.

The hourly average concentration across Seoul’s 25 districts stood at 283 micrograms per cubic meter at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, while the corresponding figure for central Gyeonggi stood at 275 micrograms per cubic.

The Research Institute of Public Health and Environment of the city government said yellow dust originating from the Gobi Desert and Inner Mongolia blew into South Korea, advising people with respiratory illnesses, the elderly and children to stay indoors and use masks when going outside.