South Korea closed schools yesterday and its factories producing memory chips stepped up safeguards as a choking pall of sand mixed with toxic dust from China covered most of the country and other parts of Asia.
The annual "yellow dust" spring storms, which originate in the Gobi Desert in China before sweeping south to envelop the Korean Peninsula and parts of Japan, are blamed for scores of deaths and billions of dollars in damage every year in South Korea.
Seoul issued a yellow dust warning at the weekend. Yesterday, school districts in southeastern regions urged parents to keep kindergarten and elementary school children at home.
"We advised the closure because kindergarten, primary school students have weaker immune systems," said Min Eyu-gi, an education official in Busan.
An official with the Meteorological Administration said the first major storm of the season, which has also hit parts of Japan, was dissipating.
But forecasts from China said cold air and little rainfall would lead to more storms from tomorrow through next Tuesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Taiwan mostly avoided the toxic clouds, but skies in Taipei yesterday were overcast, with the government telling people to wear surgical masks and avoid exercising outdoors.
In Japan, car drivers and train operators were asked to be on alert because the sandstorms had greatly reduced visibility.
Japanese Environment Minister Ichiro Kamoshita recently called on Beijing to disclose data on the yellow sand.
"About yellow sand, I am not quite sure how and why it can be regarded as a national secret," Kamoshita told a press conference last month.
"Air is connected beyond national borders and yellow sand travels beyond borders. I think it is important we share information," he said.
The sand storms have increased in frequency and toxicity over the years because of China's rapid economic growth and have added to growing tensions with its neighbors South Korea and Japan.
The dust picks up heavy metals and carcinogens, such as dioxin, as it passes over Chinese industrial regions, before hitting North and South Korea and Japan, meteorologists say.
Dry weather and seasonal winds in China hurl millions of tonnes of sand at the Korean Peninsula and Japan from late February through April or May, turning the skies to a jaundiced hue.
The state-sponsored Korea Environment Institute said the dust kills up to 165 South Koreans a year, mostly the elderly or those with respiratory ailments and makes as many as 1.8 million ill.
Annual economic damage to South Korea from the storms is estimated at up to 5.5 trillion won (US$5.82 billion), the institute said.
Hynix Semiconductor Inc, the world's second-largest maker of memory chips, said it had stepped up its filtration systems and made employees take longer air showers to make sure the dust does not contaminate its production lines and damage chips, which are made using technology that operates on a microscopic level.
South Korean retailers, however, have spotted an opportunity, offering special scarves, hats and other accessories for the yellow dust season.
Also see: Feared dust cloud not as severe as forecast, says EPA
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS