On Monday, March 15, China’s capital Beijing was covered with thick, brown dust. The dust was there because of strong winds that were blowing from the Gobi desert and parts of northwestern China. The weather bureau called this “the biggest sandstorm of a decade.” People living in Beijing wore improvised headwear to protect their faces and hair.
Heavy sandstorms also hit Mongolia, a neighboring country, and 341 people have been reported missing. Flights have also been stopped from going out of Hohhot, the capital of China’s Inner Mongolia. About 20% of the flights that are going in and out of Beijing have been cancelled, according to aviation data provider Variflight.
The environment ministry said that the storms are expected to clear by Wednesday or Thursday. Last year, he/she also said that the situation had improved because the storms arrived much later in the year and lasted much shorter. Every March and April, Beijing faces sandstorms because of deforestation and soil erosion throughout northern China. Beijing has planted a “great green wall” of trees to trap dust.
It has suffered from high levels of pollution in recent weeks, and the city was shrouded in smog during the national session of parliament which began on March 5.
