"오늘 온종일 미세먼지 고농도"…비 오는 내일 '보통' 회복<br /><br />Over the past few days, South Korea has seen the fine dust level skyrocketing.<br />The government has enacted emergency measures to reduce the amount of particulate matter in the air.<br />Choi Si-young outlines what they are. <br />Emergency measures from the Ministry of Environment were in effect on Wednesday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the Seoul metropolitan area, putting restrictions on driving and on power plants.<br />They affected the capital, Incheon and most of Gyeonggi-do Province,... and were issued after the hourly average of PM 10 fine dust particles in the area reached 50 micrograms per cubic meter.<br />Public sector workers in the area were only allowed to drive a car to work if its license plate ends in an odd number.<br />And diesel cars registered before January 1st, 2006 and weighing over 2-point-5 tons were banned from the roads in Seoul during this period.<br />The Seoul government also temporarily closed 456 public parking lots.<br />Thermal power plants that emit fine dust ran at just 80 percent capacity.<br />As of Wednesday 8 a.m., the same measures also came into effect in most of Chungcheongnam-do Province... along with the same restrictions on driving.<br />Factories there that emit fine dust were asked to reduce their operating hours.<br />On the same day, an ultra-fine dust advisory was in place for a total of 8 cities and counties in Jeollabuk-do Province... and for a total of 12 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do Province.<br />The authorities have advised citizens to use protective masks when outdoors and cautioned those with health issues to stay indoors.<br />Choi Si-young, Arirang News. <br />
