Since the turn of the 21st century, coinciding with the rapid
Some of the earliest written records of dust storm activity are recorded in ancient Chinese literature.Henan Province in China; in Classical Chinese: 帝辛五年,雨土于亳).
The first known record of an Asian Dust event in Korea was in 174 AD during the
An analysis of Asian Dust clouds conducted in China in 2001 found that they contain high concentrations of silicon (24–32%), aluminium (5.9–7.4%), calcium (6.2–12%), and iron. Numerous toxic substances were also found, including mercury and cadmium from coal burning.
People further from the source of the dust are more often exposed to nearly invisible, fine dust particles that they can unknowingly inhale deep into their lungs, as coarse dust is too big to be deeply inhaled.[5] After inhalation, these particles can cause long term scarring of lung tissue and induce cancer and lung disease.
Research done in 2014 found that China dust consists of
The main cause of China dust is
Perhaps the most important negative effect is on health. Many studies have found Asian dust to have negative effect on respiratory function and increase the occurrence of
Areas affected by the dust experience decreased visibility and the dust is known to cause a variety of health problems, including sore throat and asthma in otherwise healthy people. Often, people are advised to avoid or minimize outdoor activities, depending on severity of storms. For those already with asthma or respiratory infections, it can be fatal. The dust has been shown to increase the daily mortality rate in one affected region by 1.7%.[11]
Due to the concerning health effects, residents of affected regions have reduced their exposure to Asian dust by refraining from outdoor activities. Despite the temperature rise to warm levels during spring season, popular outdoor destinations are empty on days with yellow dust advisory or warning.[12] According to a survey in 2019, 97% of Koreans reported that they suffered from physical or mental distress due to Asian dust including fine dust during the time of the survey.[13]
Since children are among the most vulnerable to fine dust particles, affected countries have come up with measures to minimize the detrimental effects on children; in 2017, South Korea's Ministry of Education have required all primary to high schools to create indoor spaces for sports and outdoor activities.[14] Similar efforts are arising in professional sports. In 2019, the Korea Baseball Organization changed its regulations to cancel or suspend professional games during a severe fine dust warning.[12]
In addition to costs incurred by individuals, the rise of Asian dust has led to mixed pecuniary effects in different industries. First, the
On the other hand, Asian dust also has led to some positive effects in certain industries. The demand for products to combat Asian dust has increased significantly. During a period of high fine dust levels in 2019, face mask and air purifier sales surged 458% and 414%, respectively, compared to the same period in 2018.[16] The sale of dryers also surged 67% during the same period as outdoor air drying no longer became an option.[16]
Calculating the socioeconomic cost of yellow dust is a difficult endeavor. It requires estimating the negative effects on health,
Another study that focused on the total economic impacts of the yellow dust storms in Beijing concluded that it accounted for greater than 2.9% of the city's GDP in the year 2000.[18]
Asian dust is a historically significant contributor of soil nutrients for some
Asian dust is an example of a
The main cause of deforestation is extensive logging.cost of production. This results in a market failure in which individual producers make decisions based on their private marginal cost - not accounting for the dust - rather than the social marginal cost, which includes the harms from the dust. Under a free market, the quantity of logs and other wooden goods produced exceeds the socially optimal outcome.[citation needed]
China dust has been a source of international conflict between the Chinese and Korean governments.[citation needed] Although the major components of yellow dust are sand and materials from the Earth's crust, various industrial pollutants and their by-products, including mercury, sulfuric acid, nitric acid and cadmium, have made the dust more harmful. Approximately 30% of sulfuric acid and 40% of nitric acid in ambient air in Korea may have migrated from China. To reduce the transboundary pollution from China, scientists have advocated for collaborative actions between Korea and China, including scientific, administrative, and political aspects.[6]
In an effort to combat the worsening yellow dust levels, the Korean government has been working with the Chinese government. In January 2018, the two countries met at its 22nd meeting of the Republic of Korea-China Joint Committee on Environmental Cooperation, during which the two countries discussed increasing the cooperative efforts to fight air pollution, including yellow dust and fine dust, and marine pollution.[6]
Asian dust is not a new phenomenon. Historically, there have been records of Asian dust occurrences as early as 1150 B.C. in China and 174 A.D. in Korea.[2][3][4] However, official weather data show a stark increase in its severity and frequency.
In the last half century, the number of days with reports of Asian dust has increased five-fold.[20] According to an analysis on data from Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), the average number of days with Asian dust in a given year was about two in the 1960s. However, this number has increased to 11 in 2000s. In 1960s and 1970s, each decade had 3 years that were Asian-dust free. However, starting from 2000s, there has not been a single year without Asian dust.[20] In just four months of 2018, Gyeonggi Province of South Korea issued 42 dust warnings and advisories, which has increased from 36 in the same period in 2017.[12] This reflects the increase in average dust concentration level from 132.88 ppm (parts per million) in 2017 to 149 ppm in 2018. The situation is worsening since the dust particles are staying in the air longer. The average duration has increased from 16.3 hours to 19.8 hours in the last two years.[21]
Asian dust, in combination with smog and general air pollution, has become so severe that it became a political issue in the South Korean presidential election in 2017. All three main candidates of the election—
Shanghai on April 3, 2007, recorded an air quality index of 500.[citation needed] In the US, an index of 300 is considered "hazardous" and anything over 200 is "unhealthy". Desertification has intensified in China, as 1,740,000 km2 of land is "dry", which disrupts the lives of 400 million people and causes direct economic losses of 54 billion yuan (US$7 billion) per year, SFA figures show.[22] These figures are probably vastly underestimated, as they only take into account direct effects, without including medical, pollution, and other secondary effects, as well as effects to neighboring nations.[citation needed]