South Korea in airborne fight against pollution it blames on China

Seoul has sent aircraft over the Yellow Sea to carry out cloud-seeding experiments in a bid to tackle air pollution

Many South Koreans accused China when pollution surged for three days earlier this month

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The Seoul cityscape is covered with a thick haze of fine particles of dust. Photo: AP

Published: 3:27pm, 25 Jan 2019Updated: 3:27pm, 25 Jan 2019

Seoul on Friday sent aircraft over the Yellow Sea to carry out cloud-seeding experiments in an effort to tackle air pollution many South Koreans blame on China.

Air quality in South Korea is generally better than in its giant neighbour, the world’s biggest polluter, which is periodically affected by choking bouts of filthy air and according to the International Energy Agency uses coal to generate around three quarters of its energy.

Beijing has been seeking to tackle the scourge, which causes widespread public anger, and a recent study found urban levels of PM2.5 – the tiny airborne particles considered most harmful to health – had been cut by almost a third on average over four years.

But they remain far above World Health Organisation norms, and pollution levels in Korea sometimes spike as the prevailing winds blow PM2.5 particulates – referred to as “fine dust” in the South – across the sea between the two countries.

A couple takes pictures of the hazy city skyline from N Seoul Tower’s observation deck. The Seoul metropolitan government issued a fine dust warning, urging people to stay indoors. Photo: AP

Many South Koreans accused China when pollution surged for three days earlier this month, and on Friday the Korea Meterological Administration (KMA) sent an aircraft to disperse silver iodide, a compound believed to cause rain to fall, over the waters, known as the West Sea in Korea.