Yellow Dust

This is a picture I snagged off the internet of Seoul during the 2006 Yellow Dust Season. 

Every spring in Korea, they get "Hwang Sa" (Yellow Dust) that comes in from the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia. It's a mixture of sand and all kinds of chemicals and pollutants, and it makes a lot of people sick. Apparently, it has grown more severe in the last decade or so as China has continued to industrialize. 

Well, it's here and it is awful. I have known that it's been here for pretty much the entire month of March, as my throat has been swollen. Just this week though, it has worsened significantly. Today the coughing and sneezing started, along with other cold-like symptoms. I can't believe every year they have to deal with this. Many of them wear facemasks, which I will soon be purchasing. This season is expected to be particularly bad, but hopefully the past few days have been the worst. It will be so nice to get back to clean, fresh air.