Chungnam Implements Ozone Alert System from This Month... "High Concentration Ozone Likely This Year"

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The ozone alert system will be implemented in Chungnam starting this month. This year, a high concentration of ozone is predicted to occur in the morning.

According to the Chungnam Provincial Institute of Health and Environment on the 15th, the ozone alert system will be in effect from this day until October 15. Ozone, when concentrated, can irritate the respiratory system and mucous membranes, causing inflammation or lung diseases, so caution is necessary.

Last year, the average ozone concentration in Chungnam was 0.041 ppm, which is 0.004 ppm higher than 0.037 ppm in 2020. The number of ozone advisories issued has shown an increasing trend: 44 times in 2019, 29 times in 2020, and 67 times last year.

Last year, the number of ozone alerts issued by city and county were as follows: Seosan had the highest with 13 times, followed by Boryeong with 11 times, Dangjin and Taean each with 10 times, Cheonan 9 times, Asan 7 times, Yesan 3 times, and Seocheon and Hongseong each with 2 times. The alerts were mainly concentrated between 1 PM and 7 PM.

The Provincial Institute of Health and Environment plans to disseminate ozone concentration and alert status via text message service during the ozone alert system period. The text message service can be subscribed to through the Chungnam provincial government or the Institute of Health and Environment websites.

Choi Jin-ha, head of the Provincial Institute of Health and Environment, said, "This year, temperatures are expected to be higher than average, increasing the possibility of high-concentration ozone occurrences. When an advisory is issued, we urge respiratory patients, the elderly, and children to refrain from outdoor activities."

Meanwhile, the ozone alert system is a system that issues alerts when high concentrations of ozone occur. The Institute operates 38 air quality monitoring stations across 15 cities and counties in Chungnam to observe ozone levels.

The alert levels are divided into advisory (0.12 ppm or higher), alert (0.3 ppm or higher), and severe alert (0.5 ppm or higher).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.