Education ministry to use extra budget to increase air cleaners in classrooms
The government’s extra budget spending plan announced Wednesday will include increasing the number of air purifiers to be installed in elementary school classrooms to better protect young pupils against harmful fine dust pollution, officials said. Officials at the Ministry of Education said it will also expand financial support for part-time lecturers in the humanities and […]
S. Korea: Moon notes need for extra budget to battle fine dust, natural disasters
President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday highlighted the need for an extra budget to address growing issues of fine dust air pollution and public safety. Following a report from the finance minister, the president told the government to swiftly push for a supplementary budget so necessary funds can reach where they are needed in time, his […]
PM2.5 air pollutant reaches record high in March
The average concentration of PM2.5 harmful particles in the air reached the highest level in Seoul last month since it began to be observed in 2015, according to data released Monday by a state-run think tank. The National Institute of Environmental Research said the average concentration of PM2.5, particles that are smaller than 2.5 microns […]
China vows to win battle against pollution
China has reaffirmed its determination to win the tough battle against pollution and pledged that boosting the economy will not come at the price of a degraded environment. Speaking to reporters at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual legislative session on March 11, China’s Ecology and Environment Minister Li Ganjie vowed to […]
Seoul seeks to widen cooperation with Beijing to fight fine dust pollution
South Korea’s government said Thursday it will push to team up with China to take emergency measures on reducing fine dust. Environment Minister Cho Myung-rae, announcing the government’s special measures to fight fine dust pollution, said Seoul will ask Beijing to conduct a joint artificial rain experiment over the sea between the two countries this […]
President Moon calls for joint action with China to reduce fine dust
South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered his government Wednesday to work together with China to fight fine dust pollution, his office Cheong Wa Dae said. South Korea has suffered from the worst particulate matter pollution this week with a large portion of the fine dust believed to be blown from China. The president told […]
97% of Koreans suffer ‘physical or mental’ distress due to fine dust: survey
Almost all Koreans are suffering from physical or mental distress due to airborne ultrafine dust that has blanketed the nation for days, a survey showed on Tuesday. In an online survey of 731 adults by recruiting website Incruit, 97 percent of them have found it difficult to live in the contaminated air and 93.7 percent called on […]
South Korea 4th biggest CO2 emitter among OECD members: data
South Korea was the fourth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2017 due to its high dependence on fossil fuels, a report showed Monday. According to the report by global oil and gas major BP, South Korea’s CO2 emissions came to 679.7 million tons […]
Starbucks Korea to reduce plastic use
Starbucks Coffee Korea Co.declared it will introduce paper straws for a test run this year to replace plastic straws as part of its efforts to tackle pollution from plastic waste. The latest decision is part of Starbucks Coffee Co.’s broader move to eliminate single-use plastic straws from its 28,000 stores worldwide by 2020. In a […]
Pollution continues to hinder life in Iran
The severe air pollution continues after it had led authorities to close schools for three days in and around the capital, where an estimated 14 million people live, it resulted in cancelling two major football games. According to Fars News Agency, The premier football league games between Tehran teams and clubs visiting from Mashhad and Tabriz were […]