Fine Dust Issue

[Anchor Lead]

Temperatures in Korea may be signaling the coming of spring, but fine dust has swept most of the nation over the weekend. People who tried to venture outside to take advantage of the warming weather have complained about skin irritation and difficulty breathing in the smog.

[Pkg]

Early morning fog blanketed the city, clouding up everything in sight. High-rises hundreds of meters away are obscured by the fine dust. Balmy weather prompted many people to visit parks, only to get irritated at the chalky sky.

[Soundbite] Kim So-yeong (Seoul Resident) : "My mouth is irritated and my throat feels stuffed up. I can't open my eyes and have difficulty breathing."

It's common to spot people wearing masks. In contrast, the eastern Gangwon-do region enjoyed clear, cloudless skies. That's because the Taebaek Mountain Range has blocked the fine dust from moving into the area. As fine particulate matter increased to serious levels in the Seoul metropolitan area, the Ministry of Environment enforced emergency fine dust reduction measures today. The last emergency measures in the capital and surrounding areas were taken about two months ago. Public agencies activated the alternate driving system, so that only vehicles with even-numbered license plates can be operated. Some 450 parking lots of public institutions in Seoul were closed and only about 30,000 official vehicles were in operation.