The government will enforce from next month to March of next year measures to reduce fine dust levels during the high-density winter season. 

The special committee on managing fine dust under the prime minister’s office reviewed and approved the plan during a meeting Friday presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. 

The committee, in particular, decided to expand the scope of regions where grade-five emission vehicles without low-emission functionalities will face restrictions to include Daejeon, Gwangju, Ulsan and Sejong from next month. Currently, such vehicles are restricted from operating in certain hours and days in the Seoul metropolitan area, Busan and Daegu. 

Also as part of the plan, the government will inspect the ventilation and air purification systems of some 47-hundred public facilities, including daycare centers, schools and nursing homes. 

The government will also issue high-density fine dust forecasts carried out 36 hours in advance for the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces instead of just the Seoul metro area while up to 15 coal plants will be halted until next March.