By It is incredible how much earlier these yellow dust storms are striking Korea:
“Yellow dust which originated in Mongolia reached South Korea, blanketing most of the western parts of the country,” the National Meteorological Administration said in a statement.
“As the effect of the dust storm can spread to the nation, it is desirable to refrain from outdoor activities.”
The warning covered the capital Seoul and adjacent areas as well as South Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces.
Weather officials quoted by Yonhap news agency said it was the first time yellow dust had been spotted on Christmas Day in South Korea. The dust storms usually hit the country in spring.
Yellow dust — fine sand blown from China and Mongolia which sometimes includes toxic chemical smog emitted by Chinese factories — can cause respiratory disorders.
South Korea is helping to fund tree-planting projects in China to control the phenomenon. [AFP]
While eco-faithful continue their global warming jihad where the contemplate the merits of animal sacrfice, the worst environmental disaster I have ever personally experienced continues to get worse and worse every year with little fan fare. Last year the first yellow dust storm hit in February and this year one has hit in December. This is the earliest I can ever remember a yellow dust storm hitting Korea.
The yellow dust is a real man made environmental disaster due to tree clearing and overgrazing along the Gobi Desert. There is apparently no tax angle to this environmental disaster thus little concern by the eco-faithful and their political allies.
A perfect example of this is that South Korea is only providing $42,000 in funding to plant trees to combat the yellow dust that is having significant health effects on the population and often causes schools to shut down. While for global warming Korea is willing to spend billions for something that is not even effecting the peninsula. And people wonder why I get so upset with the global warming alarmists causing really environmental issues to go ignored like this.
7:23 pm on December 26th, 2009 1
Desertification is probably not the only factor responsible for the dust storms occurring more frequently. For example, we’ve been having very dry weather recently.
“While for global warming Korea is willing to spend billions for something that is not even effecting the peninsula.”
I don’t know about that. 10 years ago, it was not rare for me to see snowflakes falling in summer (my office is located near the peak of a mountain in Kangwon) and the roads would be icy by now.
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8:56 pm on December 26th, 2009 2
http://www.myway.com/article/20091226/D9CQSGH81.html
http://www.brokencountry.com/index.php/2009/12/25/dallas-texas-has-first-white-christmas-in-80-years/
Hope I got it right.
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10:47 pm on December 26th, 2009 3
I don’t know where Mongolia’s water comes from, but if it is runoff from Mountain-based glaciers, than global warming could indeed be responsible. All glaciers shrink during the summer but normally grow back in the winter and, in many places, this growth is not happening.
Of course, it could be from human over-use of the soil, which is one of the few environmental problems which does not tie back to global warming.
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December 27th, 2009 at 9:26 am
I watched a show on the Discovery Channel that laid out in great detail what is causing the Yellow Dust. They are planting crops along the stretch of the Gobi that is grassland. There is very little ground water in the grassland area and the crops suck up the ground water in 2-3 years. With the water gone the farmer just moves his crops to another area and the land where the crops were becomes desert. Over grazing of animals is something else that causing desertification in the Gobi grasslands as well. If anything this is linked to China’s huge population needing sources of domestic food not global warming.
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December 27th, 2009 at 11:09 am
The same things were done in the American west. Those practices and a severe drought contributed to creating the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s.
The problem is not just mineral dust. Micro-organisms are also transported. So, if China has an outbreak of something like hoof and mouth disease or anthrax, the dust may carry it.
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1:03 am on December 27th, 2009 4
You can keep track of the yellow dust situation in Seoul by following an automated twitter account: @yellowdust .
Updates hourly with ppm content and whether that level is OK or not.
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3:31 am on December 27th, 2009 5
Did you ever wonder why the dust is yellow in Seoul, red in Australia, and gray in Afghanistan?
Red = Iron Oxide
Gray = Sodium Chloride
Yellow = Sulfur Dioxide
“toxic chemical smog emitted by Chinese factories”
Where is the evidence of this? There is no way this is possible. Just because the Koreans use the term yellow dust and the yellow color is caused by the sulfur content of the dust, there is no way you can blame the Chinese factories! Chinese factories are some of the cleanest in the world. They don’t emit sulfur dioxide. China is a great nation full of wonderful people.
China is a great nation
Dokdo belongs to Korea
The moon is made of cheese
Tibet belongs to China
Women contribute to the Armed Forces of the United States
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December 27th, 2009 at 10:45 am
All true!
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10:12 am on December 27th, 2009 6
Why is Korea providing money to China, when China has over $2 trillion in the bank? China should be the ones who should be fixing the problem which is making life miserable for Korea.
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December 27th, 2009 at 10:41 am
I don’t know tom. Maby Korea just isn’t that bright? Maby it is a face saving action. You know how korea is all about how it is “perceived” by the rest of the world. Maby China told Korea to give them money and Korea bowed politely and said “yes Master”.
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December 27th, 2009 at 10:44 am
I hope the above does not get edited out because I used the word “master”, which indicates another is a “slave”.
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11:26 am on December 27th, 2009 7
I don’t know when/where others saw any warning about this latest Yellow Dust storm, but I check all the main English language Korean newspapers everyday, and my wife checks all the Korean language ones, and we saw no warning that this was coming at all (and no follow up since). It was only when I went outside around midnight on Christmas Day and saw my car covered in dirty ‘yellow’ snow, that I knew something was up. Then I checked the ‘Korea Meteorological Association’ website and realized something big was up. I think this was the highest level of yellow dust in Seoul this year (over the 1,000 level) and not a peep in the main papers or on TV! Supposedly the warning was issued at 5:00 p.m. the day of…a little late, I’d say. Oh well, nothing new I suppose.
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December 27th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Lee, be very careful of what you write. The Chinese monitor this site and if you write anything even remotely negative about China you will have 50,000 Chinese students subduing you in order to change your mind. I was in downtown Seoul during the Olympic torch relay. I only saw angry Chinese, it was truly a sea of red Chinese students. Korea, nor anyone else had anything negative to say about them because of the lashing China would give Korea.
Be careful!
(By the way, FREE TIBET!)
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December 27th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
It’s been like that ever since I’ve been here. It usually takes the Korean government and the media a month or two to issue the first warnings, long after the first hints of the yellowish dust has appeared over the horizon.
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8:20 pm on December 27th, 2009 8
Before I read about it here I already had detected my good buddy Yellow Dust. Should have known, Yellow Dust kicks my ass. It’s almost like having a cold. The mucus, the coughing and runny nose etc. Put me down as “anti-yellow dust” please.
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9:00 pm on March 19th, 2010 9
South Korea is extremely polluted.
Yellow dust is but one of the problems.
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