Smog expected to blot out last sunset of the year

Fine dust blanket Songpa and Gangnam District in southern Seoul on Thursday morning. Fine dust level in the capital remained within the "bad" level in the morning. [YONHAP]

People in Korea may have a tough time witnessing the last sunset of the year, with fine dust expected to blanket the peninsula on Sunday.

However, the sky will clear on Jan. 1.

Korea suffered through high concentrations of ultrafine dust on Thursday, remaining within the “bad” level, the third level of the nation's four-tier system.

On Thursday, the Environment Ministry warned authorities to take emergency measures against pollution in the greater Seoul area, including Incheon and Gyeonggi, from 6 a.m. Thursday to 9 p.m. the same day. This marked the first such warning of the season.

Operation hours of places emitting large amounts of air pollution are restricted during these hours, and grade-5 diesel cars are banned from roads.

Grade 5 vehicles refer to small- and midsize gas-powered vehicles released before 1987 and diesel cars produced before July 2002.

For large cars, they include diesel vehicles released before July 2002 and gas-powered cars made before 2000, according to the Ministry of Environment. The same advisory was issued in Sejong from 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.

Authorities issue such warnings when the concentration of ultrafine dust exceeds 50 micrograms per cubic meter and levels are expected to be maintained through the next day or when the concentration level is likely to go beyond 75 micrograms per cubic meter the next day.

Most parts of the country are expected to experience a “bad” level of ultrafine dust on Friday, with Incheon, southern Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong and Sejong experiencing more than 50 micrograms per cubic meter of ultrafine dust.

Meanwhile, experts point out that the government’s current measures, including emergency measures during high levels of fine dust, are insufficient to tackle the country’s peaking levels.

“High levels of fine dust in the country are mostly centered in South Chungcheong,” said Ho Chang-hoi, climate physics professor at Seoul National University, adding that power plants in the area are the primary cause of such pollutants accumulating in Chungcheong and the greater Seoul area.

“Measures like the seasonal effort to improve air quality and emergency measures will not be able to effectively address the issue of the high concentration of fine dust in the country.”

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), snowfall is anticipated over the weekend as a low air mass passes the Korean Peninsula. Starting from Saturday, snow and rain will arrive in the greater Seoul area and expand to the nation's central region. Heavy snow is forecast in cold areas like Gangwon.

The temperature will be warmer than average, with morning lows between minus six degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) and 2 degrees Celsius on Friday. Midday highs will hover between four degrees Celsius to 12 degrees Celsius. The KMA expects the mercury to remain similar through next week.

BY JEONG EUN-HYE, CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]