(by guest blogger, Andy Jackson)
The worst yellow dust storm so far this year hit Korea today. A view out the window looked like a landscape picture taken through a yellow filter. In Ansan the dust in the air was thick enough to smell and taste.
These storms are not just a pain in the butt, they are a increasingly becoming a health hazard:
Scientists told the UNEP conference a chief concern is that the sandstorms bind with airborn pollutants such as poisonous heavy metals as they travel over northern China and dump their toxic load elsewhere.
The storms are blamed for the disruption of communications, respiratory problems and related deaths, particularly among the elderly and children, as well as losses of livestock and crops.
And my mother-in-law took my daughter out today. Geez. At least she had her completely covered (mommy blanket and a jacket over top).
While I am on the subject, be sure to check out this satellite photo from NASA of a huge dust strom (not today’s) hitting northern China, Korea and the East Sea.
UPDATE: I just saw on the news that yesterday’s hwangsa (yellow dust) attack was the second worst in history after the big one in 2002.
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27 Comments
It’s not just Ansan…I live in northern Seoul, near Junggye, and honestly I have never seen it like today. The yellow dust was visible in the immediate air, not just looking miles away. I had to walk down and meet my buddy to a place only 45 seconds away, and when I got there I could taste the dust in my mouth. Ugh. My wife told me her eyes burned a little just from walking 15-20 minutes outside. This is a terrible situation.
This is one of the things that China, Korea and Japan really must get together and look for a solution. There could be some kind of jointly-funded irrigation and re-planting program, for example.
This is an issue of immediate human health for all 3 countries involved, and should not be delayed due to fretting about who did what to whom 50 years ago.
Hugh
I check the weather on the Yonhap website but have looked at others. I cannot find any kind of Hwangsa -yellow dust- forecast and usually only have my observation on the previous day confirmed.
Can you recommend any sites that offer hwangsa forecasts?
Hugh,
If CJK were that smart, then three countries would have formed the Asian Union(liket European Union, including India and Southeastern countries) by now.
These people still think like 1950s, or even older. Maybe in 1800s. They have to go through a war, the upcoming China-Japan war, before they can catch up to 21st century.
Damn I was outside for one hour and ended up with the worst case of hives - damn itchy for about 10 hours.
Seoul doesn’t have the balls or the power to say anything to China, let alone enforce anything. If Seoul suffers this much, imagine how much the Eastern tip of China suffers from it, but barring US intervention or pressure, I don’t see this Hwang Sa thing alleviating. I mean, seriously, who’s going to tell China to clean up?
On a side note,
Economy seems to be booming in suburban Chicago. They’re building up the mall to 30% extra the size it was, and people are going out and spending money like they have it.
Me too — I got an allergic bout pretty bad from about one hour outside breathing this stuff. The rest of the day it was like I got hit by a truck.
Are you guys having allergic reactions that show up on your skin or is this a sinus problem?
I stayed indoors all day yesterday.
I was walking along the Cheonggyecheon yesterday, and seriously, it was like half the freakin’ Gobi Desert was in the air. You couldn’t even see Seoul Tower.
Imagine what it was like to be on the water in a boat yesterday for about 8 hours. If I would have had any idea this was coming, I would have never gone fishing - Yahoo weather called for sunny and 58. My ass. By the time I got home, my eyes were on fire and my sinuses felt like someone had pushed a walnut up each nostril and I still have a sinus headache today. That’s some nasty stuff and unless something is done, it’s going to keep getting worse and worse - I have a feeling it’s already too late though, the damage is done.
I too wish for some kind of forecasting of these attacks.
Are there none?
Nomad is unfortunately probably correct, and it’s too late and it’s just going to get worse.
This 36 hour attack is horribly bad — I estimate it’s the worst ever, or at least the worst since April 2002, we’ll see what the Korean news reports say. Back then the scientists said it was not medically safe for human beings or animals to be outdoors in all of western Korea — like a severe smog alert in LA. They said if it keeps getting worse year after year, all of western Korea (home to 40 million people) would become “not fit for human habitation” all of each April — heavy metals, cancer-causing, lung-destroying — an unimaginable disaster.
Then 2003-5 were less bad, and the concern lessened.
Until yesterday.
China says it’s trying to do something about the problem (sand blowing off its ever-increasing desert areas in N-NW), just needs lots more money — but some say that the rate that North China is drying out is irreversible, the half-billion people there with all their factories & such are just using up every drop both above and below ground, are going to simply run out.
No place to get more fresh water except SE Asia and Siberia! Huge geopolitical changes could be caused by that, not so long from now… But anyway, the “Yellow Dust” is a current reality for Korea, for the wife & I. Scary — scarier than North Korea and whatever weapons they do or do not have! Uncertainty about our future here, for sure.
Last night we felt we had to go out, had a party invitation that seemed too good to pass up, and walking to and from the Subway on each end was sickening, literally…
Today was the first day that I could really feel it, smell it and taste it. Wheck! It stings the eyes. It’s like have a sand wedgy all over your body.
The Nomad recommended this site a while ago for it’s weather listings in 3-hours increments. The ‘current weather’ page lists ‘dust’ but the ‘3-hour’ multiples forcast no longer works (for me, anyway).
http://www.kma.go.kr/kmas/kma/.....rser03.jsp
Thank you guys for reminding me of one of the reasons the wife and I left Korea.
kwandongbrian,
Try this link for the 3 hour forecast, yours is giving an error but this one works: http://www.kma.go.kr/eng/wis/wis01_wf01.jsp
All I can say is that China is facing an environmental disaster that will shake the foundation of the world. Remember the old joke of what will happen to the world if all of China’s population jumped all at once? What would happen to the world if each Chinese got a car in his drive way? Well, that’s what’s happening and we’re seeing the results.
yes and no, cm. the “everyone in china jumping” question points to china’s ability for everyone to get together to do something. centralized planning. “lurching china.” that doesn’t necessarily mean for a negative pupose. the government is often able to encourage practices country with a strong implementation rate.
let’s take solar power as an example. according the Worldwatch Institute in D.C., china has about 30 million solar households-that’s 60% of worldwide solar capacity. in fact, a solar water heater is viewed as a standard appliance along with a washing machine.
although there are environmental disasters in many sectors of booming china, don’t for a second discount their ingenuity and ability to face these crises effectively and in a timely manner.
for more on solar power in china see:
Heat for the Tubs of China
Cheap Solar-Powered Devices
Bring Hot Water to Millions;
Idea for U.S. Swimming Pools?
By JAMES T. AREDDY
March 31, 2006; Page A11, Wall Street Journal
I was in Seoul this weekend and it was horrible! The skies looked like post-tornado ones being the icky yellow-brown that they were and my eyes and nose still haven’t stopped itching.
But if you all think Korea has it bad, just pray you don’t live in China. News footage showed it much, much worse over there.
The KMA site is great–where’s the dust forecast on there?
Just wondering, but how many of you that were severely affected by the yellow dust smoke? I suffered no side effects whatsoever… but maybe I’m just used to having irritating particulates in my longs and my cilia just can’t be bothered any more.
:\
Anyone get a hold of pictures from this?
Yeah, stinkin’ Chinese, those dirty bastards.
I was in Chungcheonbuk-do this weekend, and it wasn’t much different from Seoul - Here’s a photo taken from out of the car window.
That was so horrible, Bulgasari, I decided to report it as offensive content.
Um, not to sound dumb, but I am back in Seoul and haven’t been out of the house all day. The clouds look precipitation-filled, not yellow dust-filled. Am I right? Has this passed, or should I go back to Pusan?
I don’t know about the rest of you, but where I’m sitting in Seoul it’s turned into a GLORIOUS day. It’s incredibly gorgeous outside. I love it when the rain washes the pollution/smog right out of the sky. The cherry blossoms are blooming too. Seoul is looking alright to me kushibo.
Aren’t these just sand storms that are blown from the Gobi Desert for the past 2000 years? What’s all these blame it on China stuff? These are not smogs like those you see in LA. These are sand storms that have been blowing and covering cities in North East China for the past 2000-5000 years with yellow skies.
Uh, not exactly: http://www.gluckman.com/ChinaDesert.html
Those God damn friggin Chinese are lucky I’m in a good mood.
2 Trackbacks
왕사 / Yellow Sand…
I don't keep track of these things, but it seems to be that yesterday's attack of the yellow sand [황사] was the worst in quite awhile. It was bad a couple of weeks ago, but yesterday was much worse, I think, and is about the wros…
[...] I wonder what Hines Ward thinks of all the yellow dust? I wonder if he got a sinus infection yesterday from this dust, like one well known fishermen did? To bad for him that the NFL season is on going during the best months to see Korea which is autumn. Spring isn’t to bad either except when the yellow dust comes flying in like it is now. [...]