Author: Tae Yong Jung, Yonsei

South Korea’s air quality has improved remarkably over the past 20 years. The annual average concentrations of particulate matter (PM) of 10 micrometres or less in diameter (PM10) nationwide and of PM2.5 in Seoul have decreased. The concentration of fine dust has also gradually decreased but still remains twice as high as other developed countries and the number of days with high concentrations of fine dust has been increasing.