Seoul’s ultrafine dust density falls to lowest levels this past winter since 2019

The average ultrafine dust density in Seoul fell to the lowest levels in the past four months since the city government began implementing a package of measures in 2019 to reduce air pollution during winter time, officials said Wednesday. The anti-fine dust measures aim to reduce the frequency of fine dust concentrations polluting the air and their intensity during the winter months from December to March. They include restricting the driving of grade 5 emission vehicles without low-emission functions, and expanding eco-friendly plants that encourage the voluntary reduction of dust from construction sites. The initiative likely reduced some 141 tons of ultrafine dust emissions, and about 2,873 tons of nitrogen oxide in the past four months, the city government said. As a result, the average density of ultrafine dust recorded 22 micrograms per cubic meter during this period, the lowest on record since the city launched the program. It marks a 37 percent decline compared to before the city began all-out e fforts to reduce air pollution, and days with "good" levels of fine dust in the air also increased fourfold during this period. The average ultrafine dust concentration gradually declined from 28 micrograms per cubic meter in the first year of the program, to 26 micrograms per cubic meter in the fourth year, the city government added. Source: Yonhap News Agency