Ultrafine dust soars to 'very bad' levels in Seoul

SEOUL. KAZINFORM Ultrafine dust concentrations surged to «very bad» levels in the Seoul metropolitan area Tuesday, due largely to a steady influx of Chinese smog into the stagnant air over the Korean Peninsula, forcing local governments to issue a fine dust advisory, YONHAP reports.

According to the Air Quality Forecasting Center affiliated with the Ministry of Environment, the entire nation, excluding Jeju Island, posted ultrafine dust readings above bad levels throughout the day.

PM 2.5, or fine dust particles smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, soared to 108 micrograms per cubic meter in Seoul, 113 micrograms in Incheon and 102 micrograms in Gyeonggi Province as of 3 p.m. The PM 2.5 reading also jumped to 77 micrograms in the central province of South Chungcheong.

The air forecasting center said ultrafine dust figures will further rise in Seoul and the country's central regions on Wednesday because of continuing inflows of Chinese smog.