Sandstorm turns Beijing sky orange
Source: Xinhua |
March 21, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
BEIJING residents woke yesterday morning to an orange cloud of dust in the sky as a severe sandstorm that has plagued northwestern China for the past few weeks arrived overnight, packing strong winds and tonnes of sand.
The loose soil and dust that had travelled hundreds of kilometers blanketed Beijing's streets, covering parked vehicles, bikes, roofs and even plants and seeping into apartment buildings.
Before it got to Beijing, the sandstorm wreaked havoc on Friday in the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
An official with Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said the storm arrived at midnight and was moving toward the southeast.
"The maximum density of granules we observed was more than 1,500 micrograms per cubic meter," said Wang Xiaoming. The density hovered above 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing's city proper yesterday morning, causing serious pollution.
Though a daily pollution report was not immediately available, the weather bureau has already ranked yesterday's air quality at a rare level 5 on its Website, meaning it was hazardous with a pollution reading over 301.
Most parts of the city were battered by strong winds yesterday and in Changping District in the northern suburbs, winds swept through at up to 100 kilometers per hour.
The sandstorm also battered Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong yesterday.
The storm's disruptive high winds uprooted a cable tower in Hebei Province yesterday morning, causing it to block the country's rail link between Beijing and Guangzhou and delaying services.
The collapsed tower was cleared from the tracks and services had resumed by midday, the Beijing Railway Bureau said.
Beijing has a notorious history of sandstorms but their impact has eased significantly in the past decade as a result of intense environment efforts, including forestation in China's northwestern and northern regions.
The current sandstorm, after an unusually humid winter with at least 10 major snowfalls, has caught many by surprise.
"The snow has certainly curbed local dust, but sandstorms cannot disappear altogether as long as their origins remain," said Guo Hu, head of the Beijing Meteorological Station, referring to 1.67 million square kilometers of desert.
"The nearest of these origins, deserts in the Inner Mongolia, is only 800 kilometers away," said Guo. "While the slowest train needs 12 hours to cover the distance, sandstorms need only seven hours."
The loose soil and dust that had travelled hundreds of kilometers blanketed Beijing's streets, covering parked vehicles, bikes, roofs and even plants and seeping into apartment buildings.
Before it got to Beijing, the sandstorm wreaked havoc on Friday in the northwestern provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
An official with Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said the storm arrived at midnight and was moving toward the southeast.
"The maximum density of granules we observed was more than 1,500 micrograms per cubic meter," said Wang Xiaoming. The density hovered above 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter in Beijing's city proper yesterday morning, causing serious pollution.
Though a daily pollution report was not immediately available, the weather bureau has already ranked yesterday's air quality at a rare level 5 on its Website, meaning it was hazardous with a pollution reading over 301.
Most parts of the city were battered by strong winds yesterday and in Changping District in the northern suburbs, winds swept through at up to 100 kilometers per hour.
The sandstorm also battered Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi and Shandong yesterday.
The storm's disruptive high winds uprooted a cable tower in Hebei Province yesterday morning, causing it to block the country's rail link between Beijing and Guangzhou and delaying services.
The collapsed tower was cleared from the tracks and services had resumed by midday, the Beijing Railway Bureau said.
Beijing has a notorious history of sandstorms but their impact has eased significantly in the past decade as a result of intense environment efforts, including forestation in China's northwestern and northern regions.
The current sandstorm, after an unusually humid winter with at least 10 major snowfalls, has caught many by surprise.
"The snow has certainly curbed local dust, but sandstorms cannot disappear altogether as long as their origins remain," said Guo Hu, head of the Beijing Meteorological Station, referring to 1.67 million square kilometers of desert.
"The nearest of these origins, deserts in the Inner Mongolia, is only 800 kilometers away," said Guo. "While the slowest train needs 12 hours to cover the distance, sandstorms need only seven hours."
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