Beijing skies turn yellow under cloud of sand, dust
- The sand and dust particles originate from Mongolia and the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia
- High winds are expected to carry the pollutants to central and eastern China by Friday
The skies above Beijing turned yellow and air pollution soared to severe levels as a giant cloud of sand and dust particles rolled into the city, propelled by strong winds from the north of China.
Beijing’s air quality index rose to 324 as of 4pm local time on Thursday, mainly due to larger particles of sand and dust, municipal authorities said.
It worsened in the evening, exceeding 1,300 in some parts of the city, according to the Swiss IQAir app.
The particles originated from Mongolia and the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia, and high winds are expected to carry the pollutants to central and eastern China by Friday, the China Meteorological Administration said.
The amount of sand in the air was less than that during two sandstorms in northern China last month, but the wind speed was higher, allowing the dusty weather to travel faster and farther, according to the meteorological administration.
“I don’t feel good. We have had several dust storms this year,” said Gary Zi, a 48-year-old Beijing resident working in the finance sector.