Rice cake soup to come with big serving of smog this year

Fine dust is anticipated to blanket the nation during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, known as Seollal in Korea.

Fine dust blankets downtown Seoul last Thursday. [YONHAP]

Fine dust is anticipated to blanket the nation during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, known as Seollal in Korea.

The mercury during the four-day holiday, which lasts from Friday through Monday, will be similar to or above average annual temperatures.

On Wednesday, the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) forecast that this year’s Seollal holiday will be mostly clear and relatively warm.

The sky will be clear on Friday and Saturday as a migratory anticyclone approaches the peninsula.

However, the weather agency warned the public to be wary of fog that may appear on Friday night as they drive home for the holiday. Rain or snow may fall in southern Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and Jeolla on Lunar New Year’s Day, which falls on Saturday this year.

The KMA also warned that roads may be slippery due to road ice as the temperature drops from Saturday night.

Sunday will be cloudy nationwide, with rain anticipated to fall in Jeju. The sky will clear again on Monday.

Commuters crowd the Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday, ahead of the four-day Lunar New Year holiday that starts from Friday. [YONHAP]

Fine dust concentrations are expected to be high during the holiday due to dust coming from overseas and stagnant air.

According to Air Korea, an air quality tracking website run by the Korea Environment Corporation, concentrations of ultrafine dust are forecast to be high on Saturday in most regions of the nation, including the greater Seoul area and Chungcheong.

Temperatures from Saturday through Sunday morning are expected to be higher than usual, with midday highs in the capital hitting 7 degrees Celsius (44 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday.

As the continental anticyclone approaches, the temperature nationwide will drop back to average annual temperatures from Sunday.

“The wind chill may be lower due to winds blowing from Sunday afternoon,” the KMA said.

The peninsula expects early spring weather will continue after the holiday, with nationwide temperatures hovering around 10 degrees Celsius.

The KMA advised sea travelers to travel to check their sailing schedules regularly. Sea waves in the southern waters of the Yellow Sea and waters off Jeju Island are expected to rise to around 1 to 3 meters (3 to 9 feet) over the weekend.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]