Winter Ultrafine Dust 1.5 Times Higher Than Usual... Seoul City Implements Seasonal Management Plan

Complete Driving Ban on Grade 5 Emission Vehicles

Over the past three years, the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from December to March has been 1.5 times higher than usual. The Seoul Metropolitan Government will implement the ‘5th Seasonal Fine Dust Management Plan’ to reduce fine dust until March next year.

On the 7th, Seoul experienced mild weather during the heavy snowfall, with clear air flowing in from the west pushing away fine dust and revealing a blue sky. However, the city center appeared hazy due to water vapor and exhaust caused by high temperatures. A tourist visiting Namsan is taking a photo with the Seoul city center in the background. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

According to Seoul City on the 21st, the average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from December to March over the past three years was 27㎍/㎥. In contrast, the concentration during the remaining months from April to November was 17㎍/㎥. Notably, the number of days with high concentrations of fine dust (50㎍/㎥ or higher) over the past three years was 23 days during December to March and 7 days during April to November, with 77% of the total days concentrated in the December to March period.

In response, Seoul City will take action through the ‘5th Seasonal Fine Dust Management Plan.’ First, to reduce fine dust, the operation of Grade 5 emission vehicles will be completely restricted during this period.

Grade 5 emission vehicles refer to diesel vehicles subject to emission standards applied before July 2002, and gasoline or gas vehicles subject to emission standards applied before 1987 (for medium-sized or smaller vehicles) or before 2000 (for large vehicles or larger). The enforcement hours for Grade 5 vehicle restrictions are weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. If a Grade 5 vehicle without low-emission measures is caught, a fine of 100,000 KRW per day will be imposed. As of October this year, approximately 610,000 Grade 5 emission vehicles nationwide have not undergone low-emission measures.

The city has achieved improvements in air quality through previous implementations of the seasonal management plan.

As a result of the 4th Seasonal Fine Dust Management Plan, the concentration of fine particulate matter improved by 26% (from 35㎍/㎥ to 26㎍/㎥). The number of days with ‘Good’ fine dust levels (15㎍/㎥ or below) increased by 23 days, while the number of ‘Bad’ days (above 35㎍/㎥) decreased by 15 days. Additionally, the number of Grade 5 vehicles caught during the driving restrictions decreased by 59% (from 228 to 94 vehicles per day) compared to the 3rd seasonal management period.

This year, the city set strengthened air pollutant reduction targets compared to last year, including reducing 125 tons of fine particulate matter and 2,180 tons of nitrogen oxides, and improved and supplemented existing projects. The current measures include key projects aimed at reducing emissions from the three major sources of fine dust in Seoul: transportation (vehicles), heating (fuel sources), and industrial sites. New initiatives such as traffic demand charge reductions for participating facilities (companies) including the odd-even license plate system for passenger cars, and the pilot operation of the Climate Companion Card are also included.

To encourage citizens’ interest and active participation in the seasonal management plan, the city will also promote citizen action guidelines for reducing fine dust and response measures for high-concentration fine dust situations.

Lee In-geun, head of Seoul’s Climate and Environment Headquarters, said, “We are implementing strengthened measures compared to usual to respond to the frequent high concentrations of fine dust during winter. For the seasonal management plan to be successfully carried out, active interest and participation from citizens are essential, so we hope everyone will join us in the steps toward a cleaner Seoul.”

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