Yellow dust advisories issued for parts of S. Korea

The environment ministry said Thursday it has issued yellow dust advisories for parts of the country, including the greater Seoul area, as fine dust caused by sandstorms is expected to blanket the country. The ministry said the advisories have been issued at the "attention" level, the lowest in its four-notch warning system, for the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon, South Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang provinces as of 5 p.m. The national weather agency said yellow dust has been detected at the country's western island of Baengnyeong as of 6 p.m., forecasting it will be observed across most parts of the country Thursday night. Authorities expected fine dust to continue to affect the country through Saturday and advised people with respiratory illnesses, the elderly and children to stay indoors, and use masks when going outside when yellow dust levels are high. Source: Yonhap News Agency