SmogRank / Episodes / South Korea

South Korea, May 2024

For 1 day, on 4 May 2024, 25 cities in South Korea had PM2.5 at least twice their usual for the time of year. The worst reading was Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea: 45.0 µg/m³ on 4 May, about 2.4× its usual 18.7.

No cause namedWe have no fire or smoke records for these days, so we only say what the measurements show.
Cities reached25in 1 country
Days14 May 2024
Worst day4 May25 cities counted
Furthest above usual2.6×Jungpyong

Day by day

4 May 25 cities at twice their usual or more
SuwonOsanAnyang-siHwaseong-siAnsan-siSeonghwanCheonanAsanHwadoTangjinYesanTaesal-liSejongGapyeongHongseongSeosanGongjuKoesanWŏnjuChungjuChuncheonHongch’ŏnDaejeonCheorwonBuyeoBoryeongNonsanOkcheonHwacheonYŏnmuKinzanYangguYeongdongIksanMungyeongNamsaGunsanSangjuWanjuNeietsuJeonjuKimjeJinan-gunYecheonGimcheonBuanYeongjuImsilJeongeupChangsuGumiAndongKosongSokchoKunwiWaegwanKoch'angNangenJumunjinGangneungT’aebaekDamyangJangseongHwawŏnYeonggwangDaeguDonghae CityKuryeGwangjuSantyokuMasanCheongsong gunHwasunGyeongsan-siHayangChangnyeongNajuEisenHadongChinjuMuanKwangyangSuncheonGwangyangBeolgyoMiryangYeongamNaesŏMokpoGyeongjuYeonilChangwonGoseongSinanPohangKimhaeYangsanTongyeongUngsangUlsanSinhyeonBusanGeojeGijangSeongnam-siUijeongbu-siBucheon-siMunsanGanghwa-gunGoyang-siGwangmyeongSeoulIncheonCheongju-siAnseongYangp'yŏngChinch'ŏnPyeongtaekGimpo-siNamyangjuGwangjuGuri-siPubalIcheon-siYeojuYangjuWabuHanamJungpyong
1 May234567
Every measured city in the area, coloured by its PM2.5 that day; a dark ring marks a city at twice its usual or more. Bars: cities counted each day, coloured by their median level. Choose a day or press play; without JavaScript, the days link to that day's world ranking.

How it spread

YeojuYeoju, 1 May: 16.3 µg/m³Yeoju, 2 May: 21.7 µg/m³Yeoju, 3 May: 30.4 µg/m³Yeoju, 4 May: 45.0 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 18.7Yeoju, 5 May: 36.5 µg/m³Yeoju, 6 May: 11.5 µg/m³Yeoju, 7 May: 17.5 µg/m³PubalPubal, 1 May: 16.2 µg/m³Pubal, 2 May: 19.0 µg/m³Pubal, 3 May: 31.6 µg/m³Pubal, 4 May: 41.7 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 18.5Pubal, 5 May: 21.7 µg/m³Pubal, 6 May: 7.8 µg/m³Pubal, 7 May: 14.8 µg/m³Icheon-siIcheon-si, 1 May: 14.7 µg/m³Icheon-si, 2 May: 17.7 µg/m³Icheon-si, 3 May: 27.3 µg/m³Icheon-si, 4 May: 39.8 µg/m³, 2.4× its usual 16.5Icheon-si, 5 May: 29.3 µg/m³Icheon-si, 6 May: 7.9 µg/m³Icheon-si, 7 May: 16.4 µg/m³Gimpo-siGimpo-si, 1 May: 16.5 µg/m³Gimpo-si, 2 May: 20.9 µg/m³Gimpo-si, 3 May: 22.7 µg/m³Gimpo-si, 4 May: 38.7 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 17.4Gimpo-si, 5 May: 16.4 µg/m³Gimpo-si, 6 May: 10.9 µg/m³Gimpo-si, 7 May: 16.3 µg/m³PyeongtaekPyeongtaek, 1 May: 21.7 µg/m³Pyeongtaek, 2 May: 19.1 µg/m³Pyeongtaek, 3 May: 35.7 µg/m³Pyeongtaek, 4 May: 37.1 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 17.0Pyeongtaek, 5 May: 15.3 µg/m³Pyeongtaek, 6 May: 7.2 µg/m³Pyeongtaek, 7 May: 13.4 µg/m³JungpyongJungpyong, 1 May: 14.2 µg/m³Jungpyong, 2 May: 17.7 µg/m³Jungpyong, 3 May: 25.2 µg/m³Jungpyong, 4 May: 36.7 µg/m³, 2.6× its usual 13.9Jungpyong, 5 May: 16.0 µg/m³Jungpyong, 6 May: 6.1 µg/m³Jungpyong, 7 May: 12.7 µg/m³IncheonIncheon, 1 May: 16.9 µg/m³Incheon, 2 May: 22.3 µg/m³Incheon, 3 May: 22.7 µg/m³Incheon, 4 May: 36.0 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 17.5Incheon, 5 May: 14.8 µg/m³Incheon, 6 May: 10.5 µg/m³Incheon, 7 May: 12.7 µg/m³Guri-siGuri-si, 1 May: 13.1 µg/m³Guri-si, 2 May: 18.2 µg/m³Guri-si, 3 May: 24.7 µg/m³Guri-si, 4 May: 35.4 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 15.2Guri-si, 5 May: 16.4 µg/m³Guri-si, 6 May: 7.1 µg/m³Guri-si, 7 May: 12.5 µg/m³HanamHanam, 1 May: 12.5 µg/m³Hanam, 2 May: 17.1 µg/m³Hanam, 3 May: 23.2 µg/m³Hanam, 4 May: 34.3 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 13.9Hanam, 5 May: 16.1 µg/m³Hanam, 6 May: 7.1 µg/m³Hanam, 7 May: 12.0 µg/m³SeoulSeoul, 1 May: 14.2 µg/m³Seoul, 2 May: 18.5 µg/m³Seoul, 3 May: 25.7 µg/m³Seoul, 4 May: 33.9 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 16.0Seoul, 5 May: 15.6 µg/m³Seoul, 6 May: 7.4 µg/m³Seoul, 7 May: 12.9 µg/m³WabuWabu, 1 May: 10.6 µg/m³Wabu, 2 May: 16.7 µg/m³Wabu, 3 May: 21.7 µg/m³Wabu, 4 May: 33.4 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 13.5Wabu, 5 May: 15.0 µg/m³Wabu, 6 May: 4.3 µg/m³Wabu, 7 May: 9.0 µg/m³GwangmyeongGwangmyeong, 1 May: 16.4 µg/m³Gwangmyeong, 2 May: 20.6 µg/m³Gwangmyeong, 3 May: 26.1 µg/m³Gwangmyeong, 4 May: 33.0 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 15.4Gwangmyeong, 5 May: 13.4 µg/m³Gwangmyeong, 6 May: 7.8 µg/m³Gwangmyeong, 7 May: 13.3 µg/m³Chinch'ŏnChinch'ŏn, 1 May: 14.8 µg/m³Chinch'ŏn, 2 May: 16.8 µg/m³Chinch'ŏn, 3 May: 25.7 µg/m³Chinch'ŏn, 4 May: 32.8 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 14.7Chinch'ŏn, 5 May: 14.6 µg/m³Chinch'ŏn, 6 May: 8.0 µg/m³Chinch'ŏn, 7 May: 14.9 µg/m³Goyang-siGoyang-si, 1 May: 16.0 µg/m³Goyang-si, 2 May: 19.7 µg/m³Goyang-si, 3 May: 22.0 µg/m³Goyang-si, 4 May: 32.8 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 16.0Goyang-si, 5 May: 15.1 µg/m³Goyang-si, 6 May: 9.4 µg/m³Goyang-si, 7 May: 14.5 µg/m³Ganghwa-gunGanghwa-gun, 1 May: 15.1 µg/m³Ganghwa-gun, 2 May: 17.4 µg/m³Ganghwa-gun, 3 May: 21.8 µg/m³Ganghwa-gun, 4 May: 32.5 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 15.8Ganghwa-gun, 5 May: 16.5 µg/m³Ganghwa-gun, 6 May: 9.8 µg/m³Ganghwa-gun, 7 May: 12.7 µg/m³Bucheon-siBucheon-si, 1 May: 15.3 µg/m³Bucheon-si, 2 May: 19.1 µg/m³Bucheon-si, 3 May: 23.6 µg/m³Bucheon-si, 4 May: 32.5 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 16.1Bucheon-si, 5 May: 12.7 µg/m³Bucheon-si, 6 May: 9.2 µg/m³Bucheon-si, 7 May: 12.3 µg/m³GwangjuGwangju, 1 May: 14.9 µg/m³Gwangju, 2 May: 17.8 µg/m³Gwangju, 3 May: 21.4 µg/m³Gwangju, 4 May: 31.6 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 13.9Gwangju, 5 May: 15.1 µg/m³Gwangju, 6 May: 5.0 µg/m³Gwangju, 7 May: 12.0 µg/m³Yangp'yŏngYangp'yŏng, 1 May: 11.7 µg/m³Yangp'yŏng, 2 May: 16.1 µg/m³Yangp'yŏng, 3 May: 18.9 µg/m³Yangp'yŏng, 4 May: 31.6 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 14.5Yangp'yŏng, 5 May: 20.7 µg/m³Yangp'yŏng, 6 May: 4.7 µg/m³Yangp'yŏng, 7 May: 11.9 µg/m³AnseongAnseong, 1 May: 16.0 µg/m³Anseong, 2 May: 14.9 µg/m³Anseong, 3 May: 27.4 µg/m³Anseong, 4 May: 31.2 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 14.2Anseong, 5 May: 10.6 µg/m³Anseong, 6 May: 2.8 µg/m³Anseong, 7 May: 9.8 µg/m³NamyangjuNamyangju, 1 May: 11.8 µg/m³Namyangju, 2 May: 15.8 µg/m³Namyangju, 3 May: 20.8 µg/m³Namyangju, 4 May: 30.7 µg/m³, 2.3× its usual 13.5Namyangju, 5 May: 13.3 µg/m³Namyangju, 6 May: 5.6 µg/m³Namyangju, 7 May: 10.5 µg/m³Cheongju-siCheongju-si, 1 May: 12.2 µg/m³Cheongju-si, 2 May: 16.5 µg/m³Cheongju-si, 3 May: 27.7 µg/m³Cheongju-si, 4 May: 30.4 µg/m³, 2.2× its usual 13.7Cheongju-si, 5 May: 13.9 µg/m³Cheongju-si, 6 May: 7.6 µg/m³Cheongju-si, 7 May: 16.9 µg/m³YangjuYangju, 1 May: 9.7 µg/m³Yangju, 2 May: 14.8 µg/m³Yangju, 3 May: 18.5 µg/m³Yangju, 4 May: 30.2 µg/m³, 2.5× its usual 12.0Yangju, 5 May: 12.4 µg/m³Yangju, 6 May: 3.0 µg/m³Yangju, 7 May: 5.2 µg/m³Uijeongbu-siUijeongbu-si, 1 May: 12.1 µg/m³Uijeongbu-si, 2 May: 15.8 µg/m³Uijeongbu-si, 3 May: 20.2 µg/m³Uijeongbu-si, 4 May: 29.5 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 14.5Uijeongbu-si, 5 May: 14.4 µg/m³Uijeongbu-si, 6 May: 6.6 µg/m³Uijeongbu-si, 7 May: 12.0 µg/m³MunsanMunsan, 1 May: 11.7 µg/m³Munsan, 2 May: 18.1 µg/m³Munsan, 3 May: 17.9 µg/m³Munsan, 4 May: 28.5 µg/m³, 2.1× its usual 13.8Munsan, 5 May: 15.2 µg/m³Munsan, 6 May: 5.8 µg/m³Munsan, 7 May: 11.2 µg/m³Seongnam-siSeongnam-si, 1 May: 14.6 µg/m³Seongnam-si, 2 May: 15.9 µg/m³Seongnam-si, 3 May: 19.9 µg/m³Seongnam-si, 4 May: 26.6 µg/m³, 2.0× its usual 13.1Seongnam-si, 5 May: 12.0 µg/m³Seongnam-si, 6 May: 4.9 µg/m³Seongnam-si, 7 May: 10.7 µg/m³1 May234567
Every counted city, in the order the episode reached them, 3 days before to 3 after. Each square is a day, coloured by that day's PM2.5; outlined: at twice the city's usual or more.
Good0–50
Moderate51–100
Sensitive groups101–150
Unhealthy151–200
Very unhealthy201–300
Hazardous301+

Every city it reached

CityDaysHighestUsualAbove usual
JungpyongNorth Chungcheong, South Korea1 36.74 May13.92.6×
HanamGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 34.34 May13.92.5×
WabuGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 33.44 May13.52.5×
YangjuGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 30.24 May12.02.5×
YeojuGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 45.04 May18.72.4×
Icheon-siGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 39.84 May16.52.4×
PubalGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 41.74 May18.52.3×
Guri-siGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 35.44 May15.22.3×
GwangjuGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 31.64 May13.92.3×
NamyangjuGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 30.74 May13.52.3×
Gimpo-siGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 38.74 May17.42.2×
PyeongtaekGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 37.14 May17.02.2×
Chinch'ŏnNorth Chungcheong, South Korea1 32.84 May14.72.2×
Yangp'yŏngGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 31.64 May14.52.2×
AnseongGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 31.24 May14.22.2×
Cheongju-siNorth Chungcheong, South Korea1 30.44 May13.72.2×
IncheonIncheon, South Korea1 36.04 May17.52.1×
SeoulSeoul, South Korea1 33.94 May16.02.1×
GwangmyeongGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 33.04 May15.42.1×
Goyang-siGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 32.84 May16.02.1×
Ganghwa-gunIncheon, South Korea1 32.54 May15.82.1×
MunsanGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 28.54 May13.82.1×
Bucheon-siGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 32.54 May16.12.0×
Uijeongbu-siGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 29.54 May14.52.0×
Seongnam-siGyeonggi-do, South Korea1 26.64 May13.12.0×

Daily means in µg/m³, over the days each city counted in this episode. Highest: its highest of those days. Usual: the city's median for the time of year of that day (its days within 21 days of the date, every year, leaving out the week around it). Above usual: its highest day against that, with a usual under 5 µg/m³ taken as 5.

Against other episodes in South Korea

Number 41 of 63 episodes in South Korea since our records began, by cities reached.

Bars: cities reached; colour: the level of the episode's highest daily reading. All 63.

Use this page

SmogRank, South Korea, May 2024: 25 cities with PM2.5 at twice their usual or more, 4 May 2024, smogrank.com/episodes/2024-05-south-korea (accessed 4 October 2026).

Download top 10 (PNG)

You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms.

An episode is a run of days when many cities close to each other (four or more within 350 km on a day, 8 or more in all) each had a daily PM2.5 mean of at least 25 µg/m³ and at least 2 times their usual for that time of year. Found in our own measurements, not picked by hand. How we find episodes. Values are each city's daily mean of its own monitors; causes are the usual kinds for a pattern like this, not a confirmed source.