Worst sandstorm in decade hits north China
Print Edition
CHINA’S capital Beijing and a wide swath of the country’s north were enveloped in the worst sandstorm in a decade yesterday, forcing the cancelation of hundreds of flights.
The sandstorm originated in central and northern Mongolia where authorities said several people had died.
China’s National Meteorological Center announced a yellow alert early yesterday, saying the sand and dust would affect 12 provinces and regions from Xinjiang in the far northwest to Heilongjiang in the northeast and the eastern coastal port city of Tianjin.
“This is the most intense sandstorm weather our country has seen in 10 years, as well as covering the broadest area,” the center said in a post on its website.
Residents in Beijing used goggles, masks and hairnets to protect themselves from the choking dust and sand, with landmarks including the Forbidden City partly obscured behind an apocalyptic-looking haze.
The city government ordered schools to cancel all outside sport and events and advised the public to stay indoors where possible.
The concentration of hazardous airborne PM10 particles in most areas exceeded 2,000 micrograms per cubic meter yesterday, according to the Beijing Municipal Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center. Besides, a heavy concentration of 3,572 micrograms per cubic meter was observed in Beijing’s Haidian District.
Traffic was snarled and more than 400 flights out of the capital’s two main airports were canceled amid high winds and low visibility.
Such storms used to occur regularly in the springtime as sand from western deserts blew eastward, but massive planting of trees and bushes in fragile areas has reduced the effects on other parts of the country in recent years.
“The dust will not become the norm in the future,” said Zhang Bihui, an official with the China Meteorological Administration, noting that national afforestation projects have led to a steady decline in sandy weather.
The dust is expected to gradually settle and clear from tomorrow to Thursday due to the upcoming cold front and precipitation, said the NMC.
The sandstorm will not greatly affect Shanghai due to the rainy week, Fu Yi, an official at the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau said yesterday.
The Shanghai Ecology and Environment Bureau said slight air pollution is expected today because of the high concentration of PM10 particles blown from the north but the air quality in the following two days will be good.
The meteorological department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region issued an orange warning for the sandstorm yesterday, which is only second to red, the most severe level.
Among the worst-hit areas, Baotao in the western part of the region first issued an orange warning for the sandstorm on Sunday night. Following the warning, the city’s education department issued an emergency notice asking kindergartens, primary schools and junior high schools throughout the city to close yesterday.
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