Yellow Dust

Spring has come early to Daegu. The weather has been super warm, maybe the low 70's. It's unseasonably warm for this time apparently. Along with the warm weather though, the Yellow Dust/Asian Dust has come. Every year in the spring, the prevailing winds in this part of the world shift and Korea gets covered (I've actually been told it can accumulate on the ground, like the dust on top of your TV) with a fine dull yellow dust blown from the Chinese and Mongolian deserts. The 'hwangsa' sometimes can be really bad, devastating air quality and causing serious problems for kids and the elderly. Fortunately I am young and healthy and indestructible. According to a Korean weather website, when the hwangsa density gets too high(400㎛/㎡ for over 2 hours), it's a bad idea to exercise outdoors, and if it goes even higher (800㎛/㎡ for over 2 hours)then

The old, the young, and those with respiratory diseases are prohibited from going outside.
· Kindergarden and elementary school students are prohibited from outdoor activities and their class should be dismissed
· Everybody is prohibited from outdoor activities.
· Outdoor sports event should be rescheduled.

It hasn't been bad yet, in fact it's been very low for Daegu, especially since this weekend was rainy. It reminds of living in Salt Lake City, when the stagnant air would get trapped in the valley from a lack of weather blowing in from the west to clear it out. They called it 'inversion'. I called it disgusting. There would be a phlegm-colored cloud hanging over the city, even completely obscuring the ground if you were up on a mountain looking down on it from above. One day when I was working at Litza's Pizza, making pies while staring out of the plate glass window towards downtown, I couldn't even see the skyscrapers six blocks away. That was gross, I hope this Yellow Dust clears out before it gets that bad here.