Yellow Dust

     Spring in Korea is beautiful.  Flowers are blooming everywhere, the air is filled with a sweet scent, and the trees are brilliant green.  Now imagine a filter placed over your eyes.  This is what it is like with "yellow dust" in the air.  Everything has a thin brown film on it.  Buildings, windows, cars, even my table and counter.  The sky looks foggy and hazy.  Local people will wear masks to cover their noses, acting as a filter against the heavily polluted air.  On days when the "yellow dust" is high, parents will encourage their children to play indoors.  I too, wear a mask on my walk to work.
     Yellow Dust originates in the deserts of Mongolia, China, and Kazakhstan where high-speed surface winds and intense dust storms will carry fine, dry soil particles. The particles are then carried eastward by prevailing winds and pass over China and Korea.  When the particles pass over China, they pick up heavy pollutants, which are carried and dropped along their way.  In significant concentrations, the dust can affect air quality.
     Many Koreans that I have met, blame China for the dust and the polluted particles that leaves on their country.  While traveling in China, I was able to see the work being done to decrease the large concentrations of the yellow dust.  China is planting trees ontop of its hills and mountains to act as a filter for the yellow dust.  It was great to have the opportunity to see an active approach to a problem that occurs every spring in Korea.

My Hello Kitty Mask