If I can’t go to the Gobi Desert, It Will Come Here

By Marty, March 21, 2010 3:13 am

Count on it. Every spring, like clock work the Gobi Desert pays a visit to South Korea. This weekend it’s pretty gnarly. A big-ass storm started heading this way earlier this week. Beijing, China is in the path and they got the brunt of the sand. The bad news, however, is that the further the stuff travels the smaller the particles are, which means when you inhale you get lots of pollutants and very fine sand that can cause serious respiratory problems.We’re nearly at the tail end of the land masses, except for Japan, so we get the smallest particles and the most pollutants picked up by the drifting sand. A lot of my friends are sick with scratchy throats and coughs. I’m trying to stay indoors. Here’s a couple of charts I stole from the Korean weather folks.

Above is the dust storm map as of Sunday, March 21. That gives one an idea of the size of the crap coming this way. But a better indicator is the particle counter. They usually close the schools at 400ppm. At 800ppm they warn people to stay indoors. We were quite a bit higher than that last night. The various lines are for each of the 20 or stations around Korea collecting samples

Things are a little clearer this morning as I write this, but I believe it’s just a clear spot while more is on the way. In the meanwhile, no exercising outdoors. If I go out, I’ll wear a mask. Maybe a respirator. Screw it – maybe an Iron Lung.

Korea, Weather