The nation’s air quality, which is already poor due to heavy concentrations of fine dust, is expected to worsen Wednesday afternoon due to an inflow of yellow dust from outside the country.

As of 7 a.m. Wednesday, fine dust reached “bad” levels in Incheon and Ulsan, as well as in Gyeonggi, Chungcheong and North Gyeongsang provinces.

Fine dust levels are expected to remain at bad levels on Wednesday in the country’s central and western regions and most parts of its southern provinces. 

In the afternoon, yellow dust is forecast to enter the country from the Gobi Desert and the Inner Mongolian Plateau, starting with the five western border islands in the Yellow Sea and along the western coast of Gyeonggi Province.

The yellow dust is expected to spread throughout the country starting Wednesday night. 

The nation is likely to see further inflows of yellow dust Thursday and Friday.