A violent sandstorm struck Beijing yesterday morning, darkening the skies and raising questions over claims that reforestation had been successful.
The storm was the worst in 10 years, with winds reaching 70km/h and visibility plummeting to 500 metres along Beijing's busy Third Ring Road.
The capital's traffic ground to a halt in many areas, Beijing officials said.
The sandstorm caused havoc at Beijing's airport, causing the delay of at least 40 flights and forcing another 40 incoming planes to divert to Tianjin, about 150km to the south, Xinhua said.
Beijing is often enveloped in sandstorms at this time of year as winds descend on the region from the Gobi Desert and other desert regions further north in Inner Mongolia, but this year's storms were especially harsh, officials said.
'The strong gales from the Mongolian Plateau would continue to sweep areas along the Yellow River and the Huaihe River, including Shandong province, and is expected to slow down in the evening,' said Yang Guimin, a senior engineer with China's Central Meteorological Observatory.