Sandstorm Hits Northern China, Residents Warned Air Quality "Very Bad for Health"

Beijing's sky took on an orange hue on Saturday as the country experienced its strongest sandstorm this year in northern China. According to media reports, a thin dusting of sand covered Beijing, causing workers and tourists to cover their faces in Tienanmen Square. China's national weather bureau warned that the air quality was "very bad for the health." It cautioned people to cover their mouths when outside and keep doors and windows locked.

China's expanding deserts now cover one-third of the country because of overgrazing, deforestation, urban sprawl and drought. The shifting sands have led to a sharp increase in sandstorms, the grit from which can travel as far as the western United States. The Chinese Academy of Sciences has estimated that the number of sandstorms has jumped sixfold in the last 50 years to two dozen a year.

The latest sandstorm also hit the Chinese regions of Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia and the provinces of Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Hebei, affecting about 250 million people over an area of 312,000 square miles, the state-run New China News Agency reported. As the sandstorm moved southeast, South Korea's national weather agency issued an advisory for Seoul and other parts of the country. Source: LA Times

China experienced it worst recent sandstorm in 2006, when about 300,000 tons of sand were dumped on Beijing.

Beijing's First Snow Fall of Season, Artifically Induced to Combat Lingering Drought

Chinese meteorologists blanketed Beijing in snow Sunday after seeding clouds to bring winter weather to the capital in an effort to combat a lingering drought, state media reported. The unusually early snowfall covered the capital from Sunday morning and continued falling for half the day. It was aided by temperatures as low as 29 degrees Fahrenheit and strong winds from the north.

The report said snow fell in the northeastern provinces of Liaoning and Jilin and the northern province of Hebei, the eastern port city of Tianjin. Chinese meteorologists have sought for years to make rain by injecting special chemicals into clouds. The drought in northern China has continued for over a decade.

Xinhua, the state news agency, said besides the snow, which was the earliest to hit the capital in 10 years, the cold weather and strong winds also delayed air travel from Beijing's Capital Airport, while interrupting passenger shipping services off the coast of Shandong province in the east.

Photo credit: Snow in China, AFP