Sandstorm blasts Beijing residents
Source: Xinhua |
March 19, 2011, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BEIJINGERS woke yesterday to see a yellowish-grey sky that heralded the year's first sandstorm, as strong winds from Mongolia, picking up dust on their way, struck the Chinese capital.
Pedestrians put on glasses, face masks and hooded overcoats, while vehicles parked on the roadsides were covered by a thin layer of dust. People are advised to stay indoors.
The municipal weather bureau of Beijing said a cold current in northern China had swept dust into the capital.
Beijing, notorious for its poor air quality, saw its pollution index rising to "slightly polluted" on average from Thursday noon to yesterday noon, the weather bureau's latest figures showed.
Beijing's environmental protection bureau said several of its downtown surveillance stations detected higher than normal levels of particulate matter - an indicator of air pollution - at an average 500 milligrams per cubic meter.
In the outer Changping and Daxing districts, the level topped 800mg per cubic meter, while in Badaling area, the level shot up to 1,400mg per cubic meter, the bureau said.
Sandstorms were reported in many parts of China starting on Thursday.
Golmud City in the Qaidam Basin of northwestern Qinghai Province reported the strongest winds in 30 years, with gales of 95 kilometers per hour.
The sandstorm reduced visibility to 10 meters in the early hours of Thursday, said Zhang Jinong from the provincial meteorological bureau.
The Inner Mongolian weather bureau said the sandstorm should have eased by last night, but with a new cold current during the day, most parts of the region would experience a temperature drop.
Pedestrians put on glasses, face masks and hooded overcoats, while vehicles parked on the roadsides were covered by a thin layer of dust. People are advised to stay indoors.
The municipal weather bureau of Beijing said a cold current in northern China had swept dust into the capital.
Beijing, notorious for its poor air quality, saw its pollution index rising to "slightly polluted" on average from Thursday noon to yesterday noon, the weather bureau's latest figures showed.
Beijing's environmental protection bureau said several of its downtown surveillance stations detected higher than normal levels of particulate matter - an indicator of air pollution - at an average 500 milligrams per cubic meter.
In the outer Changping and Daxing districts, the level topped 800mg per cubic meter, while in Badaling area, the level shot up to 1,400mg per cubic meter, the bureau said.
Sandstorms were reported in many parts of China starting on Thursday.
Golmud City in the Qaidam Basin of northwestern Qinghai Province reported the strongest winds in 30 years, with gales of 95 kilometers per hour.
The sandstorm reduced visibility to 10 meters in the early hours of Thursday, said Zhang Jinong from the provincial meteorological bureau.
The Inner Mongolian weather bureau said the sandstorm should have eased by last night, but with a new cold current during the day, most parts of the region would experience a temperature drop.
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