As Korea is expected to be affected by yellow dust today (16th) and tomorrow, Beijing, China, which was covered in yellow curtains with the worst yellow dust in 10 years yesterday, regained its clear skies in one day.
Beijing has a good air quality index (AQI) of 70 as of 9 am on the 16th.
24 hours ago, the air pollution level was the worst,’severe pollution’ (AQI 301 to 500).
Beijing’s AQI has reached the highest numerical value of 500.
Yesterday, due to yellow dust, the concentration of PM 10 in six districts in Beijing rose to 8,108 ㎍/㎥.
Today, the concentration of PM 10 has dropped below 100㎍/㎥.
The concentration of ultrafine dust (PM 2.5) was only 22㎍/㎥.
China’s Central Meteorological Agency issued a yellow yellow dust warning yesterday, saying that large-scale yellow dust appeared in 12 provinces and cities in the north including Beijing.
Yellow dust still remains in many areas, but it is expected to gradually subside.
Meanwhile, the Chinese media started to report the yellow dust as’from China’ in the Korean media.
The Global Times, the English version of the government-run Global Times, said that some Korean media mentioned’China’ in the title and sensationally reported it by attaching pictures of Beijing to the article, and Korean netizens who were stimulated by this reported that China was a source of pollution.
The South Korean Meteorological Administration said in a yellow dust forecast that the yellow dust originated in the vicinity of Neimong-gu and the Gobi desert in China.
However, unlike the Korean Meteorological Administration, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of China announced that “the main origin of this yellow dust is Mongolia.”
It is said that the yellow dust that occurred in the southwestern part of Mongolia on the morning of the 14th traveled to the south by an air current and reached northern China.
Chinese media reports do not mention China’s’Neimengu’ other than Mongolia as the source of yellow dust.
The Global Times criticized the Korean media for making China a victim whenever air pollution such as yellow dust and ultrafine dust occurred.
He then demanded that the meteorological authorities and the media not agitate public opinion, saying that only if the weather forecast and reports are fair and objective, East Asian countries can cooperate and overcome the problem together.
“The Korean media has also begun to take responsibility for China,” said Hwangu Times’ international review social media account, and criticized the Korean media for reporting on’yellow dust from China’, starting with the forecast of the Korean Meteorological Agency.
The Chinese media are reporting on the damage situation of the sand storm in Mongolia, highlighting that the yellow dust originated mainly from Mongolia.
The state-run CCTV reported that the death toll due to the sand storm in Mongolia increased to 10 and there was also one missing.
(Photo = Yonhap News)