Worst Sandstorm In A Decade Buries China’s North

HUNDREDS of flights cancelled as the worst sandstorm to hit in a decade buries China’s north

China’s capital Beijing was engulfed in the largest sandstorm in more than ten years, forcing the city’s two main airports to ground more than 400 flights on Monday, March 15. Traffic was also paralysed due to low visibility with locals describing the murky orange light as like a scene from ‘Blade Runner’.

“It’s pretty bad. You can barely see 200 meters away from you,” said Li Shuo, senior climate and energy policy officer for Greenpeace East Asia, based in Beijing.

Residents were advised to remain inside and seal doors and windows by The National Health Commission; if they absolutely have to go outside, experts said people must wear masks and cover their eyes if possible.

The National Meteorological Centre, which said the enormous storm originated in Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region, forecasted that the dusty blizzard would affect twelve regions from Xinjiang in the northwest to Heilongjiang in the northeast and the eastern port city of Tianjin.

“This is definitely not a normal weather system. This is the most intense sandstorm weather our country has seen in 10 years, as well as it covering the broadest area,“ the centre said on its website.

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