Yellow Dust in Korea

Yellow dust is fine particles of soil and dirt, sometimes mixed with pollution, that get swept up in strong winds from the deserts of China and blown out across Korea, Japan, and surrounding areas. Exposure to yellow dust can have an adverse effect on respiratory health. It can also irritate the eyes and skin. Yellow dust storms typically happen in the spring season, but the air quality last year was exceptionally good. The pandemic caused many factories in China and Korea to reduce operations in the spring which greatly reduced air pollution in Korea, so the wonderful quality of air last year made the dust storm this week all the more striking.

When I lived in Japan, yellow dust was also an issue albeit an infrequent one. There, the dust never impacted my daily life. I remember a couple of times in the three years in Japan that people complained about the yellow dust from China and Korea. I wouldn't even have noticed there was a problem except after the apparent dust storm there would be a fine layer of yellowish-brown filth on my car. The windows were coated with dust. I didn't wear a mask in Japan but people in Japan often wore masks when the dust was bad.

The dust storm this week was much more noticeable and intense. Before I heard any of the warnings of the dust, I noticed that in the morning while walking up the hill to school that I was more tired than usual and climbing the hill was especially laborious. I dismissed it as just not getting enough sleep or being too out of shape. But when I got to the school on top of the hill, I looked out and realized the city was covered in a haze. Visibility was terrible on what should have been a sunny, clear day.

I use an app called MISE that provides daily updates on the air quality. On clear days, a smiley face pops up on my phone. On days with poor air quality, I'm greeted by an angry face. But on Tuesday, the worst day of the dust storm, an ominous face adorned with a gas mask let me know that the air was really bad, toxic even. The app shows a map of the city and the corresponding air quality levels. There is often some variation across the city in air quality, but on Tuesday the whole city was blanketed with yellow dust.

Korean news reported that dust levels were 10 times higher than normal and warnings had been issued for most of Korea for the first time in 6 years. It wasn't pleasant to be outside, but already wearing a mask as a precaution against COVID-19 ensured that I was at least somewhat protected from the fine dust.

Two of my students reported negative health effects after the dust storm - they had sore throats and weren't feeling well at school. Teachers were sure to close all of the windows at the school to help protect the students.

Seoul metropolitan government gives the following recommendations for what to do during yellow dust storms:

At Home and in Places that Manage Food

• Avoid going outdoors. When unavoidable, wear protective glasses, a mask and long-sleeved clothes. Wash your hands and brush your teeth once you come home.
• Close your windows to avoid any yellow dust coming in and keep the indoor air pleasant with air purifiers and humidifiers.
• Before cooking, thoroughly wash vegetables, fruits, fish and other agricultural products that may have been exposed to yellow dust.
• To avoid second-hand pollution, thoroughly wash your hands before processing food and cooking, and keep the surrounding environment clean to prevent the contamination of cooking tools and instruments.

The weather is getting nice and warm in Korea, so I want to get outside as much as possible. Hopefully, the air quality improves soon and dust storms remain rare. COVID-19 and dust storms form a sort of catch-22 since the toxic dust forces people to remain indoors with closed windows, but COVID-19 protocols encourage people to stay outside and not congregate with people indoors.