Strong winds blow away smog but bring sand to Beijing
Choking smog blown away, only to be replaced by a blanket of sand from Inner Mongolia
Strong winds swept through Beijing yesterday and cleared the air of smog that had blanketed it on Saturday, only to bring sand.
Heavy gusts picked up around noon, mixed with local dust and sand from Inner Mongolia , which was hit by a strong sandstorm yesterday. As well as reducing visibility and stirring up debris such as plastic bags, the winds were strong enough in Beijing for some people reporting that their windows rattled loudly.
The capital's Environmental Monitoring Centre tracked the sand to the Inner Mongolia storm that blew in via Hebei .
Air quality took a noticeable hit. The centre said the level of PM10 pollutants - those with a diameter of less than 10 microns - increased sharply around noon and surpassed 500 micrograms per cubic metres.
"Pay attention to protection, shut the doors and windows, and limit outdoor activities," the centre advised. The air-quality index provided by the US embassy peaked around noon before improving late in the afternoon.
Meteorologists' classification which warned of "flying sand" instead of a "sandstorm", was due to differences in visibility, but many Beijingers still called it a sandstorm, and said they were caught off guard.
