Fill in the Blanks particlesOnline version particles by marco rabadan 1 premature particles servants civil urban Mayor Can free transport end air pollution ? South Korea has a pretty bad air pollution problem . The organization for economic cooperation and development ( OECD ) says it has the worst air quality among a group of 35 rich nations . PM2 . 5 are very small air pollutant particles that people can breathe . These stay in the body and can make people very sick . In other countries , the PM2 . 5 is around 13 . 2 micrograms , but in South Korea the PM2 . 5 levels are 27 . 9 micrograms ? and scientists believe it will get worse in the next five years . So when the air quality became really bad in January 2018 ( 179 micrograms ! ) , the city decided to let the people use public transport for free . They also closed 360 parking areas for so they would use the subway and buses instead . And they told the workers they could not all drive to work on the same day . Seoul , the capital , is changing too . There are more bicycle lanes in the city , parks , and areas for people to walk around the center of the city . They are now using buses that run on natural gas instead of diesel . Seoul , Park Won Soon wants to make public transport free during the busy times of the day . They have $23 million to spend . However , they spend $4 . 7 million of the free travel policy every day , and there was not a big improvement in air quality . The number of cars on the road fell by 1 . 8 percent ? just over 2 , 000 vehicles . The number of people on the subway increased by 23 , 000 , and by bus 3 , 500 . That means that half the money was used in one week , but the air was still bad . Many people think the money should be spent on other ways to improve the air . Because 70% of South Korea's population lives in cities and areas , the danger to health is very real . The OECD said the number of deaths because of air pollution will increase from over one million in 2000 to about 3 . 5 million in 2050 worldwide . The idea has worked well in smaller cities and communities though . For example , Dunkirk in France made it free to travel by bus on weekends in 2015 . The number of users increased by an average of 5 , 000 a day ? with families , young people , and older people benefiting the most . Seoul , on the other hand , has almost ten million people . The mayor knows it will be hard to change people's minds . Being in a car alone is more comfortable than being on a bus with 60 other people . And saving money on public transport might not be enough to change people's attitudes . Is your country here ? These numbers show the PM2 . 5 micrograms per cubic meter : Russian Federation 15 . 5 Spain 11 . 5 France 13 . 4 Turkey 20 . 0 Brazil 10 . 3 Japan 13 . 8 Germany 14 . 0 United Kingdom 11 . 3 United States 10 . 0 Czech Republic 19 . 5 Mexico 15 . 6 Italy 18 . 3 Ireland 7 . 1 Norway 4 . 6 Iceland 3 . 0 Poland 22 . 1 Netherlands 14 . 0 Let's check what you can remember !
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