Over 50 Beijing flights cancelled or delayed as sandstorms hit northern China
Air quality at hazardous levels and visibility has plummeted in the capital and its surrounding areas
Air traffic in Beijing was affected on Thursday as dust and sandstorms enveloped a swathe of northern China, dragging down air quality and visibility and prompting warnings for children and elderly people to stay indoors.
Sand and dust, originating from Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, was first blown into Beijing on Wednesday afternoon. It has since affected an area of up to 1.63 million square kilometres, according to the National Meteorological Centre.
Beijing government data showed the average readings of PM2.5, the small particles in the air most harmful to health, had risen to 630 micrograms per cubic metre in parts of the city by Thursday morning. The World Health Organisation recommends concentrations of just 10 micrograms.
Throughout Beijing, levels of PM10 – larger particles in the air harmful to health – surged over 1,500mcg per cubic metre at 8am, according to the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Centre. In the capital’s northwestern, southeastern and southwestern parts, PM10 levels were more than 2,000mcg per cubic metre.
Beijing’s air quality index was at 905, a hazardous level, in the afternoon.
At the Beijing international airport, 15 flights were cancelled and more than 40 delayed due to the extreme weather, the Beijing Times reported.