Korea has more air pollutants than Japan and the United States, according to a joint study by the National Institute of Environmental Korea and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States.

The report said the amount of aerosol in Korea is greater than those in the two countries. In context of air analysis, aerosol refers to the suspension of solid or liquid particles in the atmosphere. The amount of this can be used as a measure of air pollution.

The research was conducted from March to May this year, when yellow dust from China and Mongolia swept the country.

The report listed figures for Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), which records the extent light is scattered or absorbed by the amount of aerosol in the air. In Korean cities readings of this are higher than those in cities in the U.S. and Japan. The higher the amount of aerosol in the air, the greater the AOD figure is.

via Air pollution in Korea worse than Japan, US.