Sandstorm strikes Beijing, with more on the way as hazy, windy weather sweeps across northern China

It is the eighth sandstorm to hit the Chinese capital so far this year, marking the most active spring storm season in a decade
While the country is working to improve urban air quality, there is little it can do to guard against gusts and dust from Mongolia

Accidents, extreme weather and disasters in China

Sylvie Zhuangin Beijing

Published: 5:32pm, 11 Apr 2023

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Beijing was struck by a sandstorm on Monday, bringing severe pollution in its wake, with more storms forecast for Thursday and Friday.

It was the eighth sandstorm to hit Beijing this year. Sandstorms typically hit the capital city and surrounding areas in the spring.

“The frequency of sandstorms this year, compared with other spring seasons, marks the highest for Beijing in the past decade,” said Ma Jun, director of the Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs, a non-profit environmental research firm.

How a dust storm turned the sun over Beijing a ‘Mars-like’ blue

The Beijing Meteorological Bureau issued yellow warnings – the second-lowest in a four-tier system – for sandstorms and wind on Monday evening and reminded the public to take the necessary precautions.

Strong winds and sandstorms can harm air quality, affecting daily life, the environment and certain agricultural facilities.

As of Tuesday morning, Beijing’s real-time air quality index was 500, indicating severe pollution, with PM10 being the primary pollutant.

PM10 refers to inhalable particles with a diameter of 10 micrometers or smaller. There is strong evidence showing that exposure to PM10 is associated with negative health impacts, according to the World Health Organization.

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Sandstorms blanket northern China in otherworldly haze

China has worked to improve the air quality of its cities by imposing heavier environmental regulations on factories, especially in the northern part of the country.

But sandstorms mostly come from Mongolia, and China cannot do anything to stop the dust from blowing over the border.

Ma said poor vegetation growth in the Gobi Desert region of Mongolia had contributed to the severity of sandstorms.

He said one reason the storms generally struck in the spring was because melted snow and slow plant growth left vast swathes of exposed sand, and one of the areas with the highest concentrations of sand was along the China-Mongolia border.

“Inappropriate human activities in production and daily life can disrupt arid and vulnerable regions, leading to land desertification and degradation,” he said.

“This is not limited to China, as excessive grazing and mining in Mongolia … are quite serious as well,” Ma said, citing public reports.

China offers Mongolia helping hand to fight sandstorm challenge

China Weather, a media outlet affiliated with the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), said the latest sandstorms and windy weather were expected to weaken, ending by Tuesday evening.

However, visibility will continue to be low in Beijing until Wednesday afternoon.

According to the CMA, the storms affected 18 provincial-level regions, from Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in the northwest to Heilongjiang province in the northeast and as far south as Shanghai and parts of Anhui province.

Earlier this year, Liu Bingjiang, an official from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said China was confident it could “basically eliminate” heavy air pollution days by 2025, despite weather uncertainties and an emissions-fuelled economic recovery.

Liu also said China’s heavy air pollution days had dropped significantly compared with 2013.

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