Sandstorm blasts 16 provinces
- Source: Global Times
- [04:40 March 22 2010]
- Comments
Students ride on the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing Saturday during a strong sandstorm. Photo: Hu Hao
By An Baijie
One of the worst sandstorms in recent memory is turning the sky yellow across vast stretches of China, with strong winds blowing clouds of gritty dust across 16 provinces and expected to reach as far south as the Yangtze River basin.
The National Meteorological Center (NMC) issued a "yellow alert" for sandstorms Sunday morning, saying the heavy pollution accompanied by strong winds would buffet northern Xinjiang Urghur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and other areas until this morning.
The Center for Desertification Monitoring under the State Administration of Forestry said Saturday that the sandstorm is swirling southward to Henan and Shandong provinces and the increasingly strong winds could blow sand even south of the Yangtze River basin, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
As of Saturday morning, the sandstorm reportedly affected an area of 810,000 square kilometers in six provinces with a combined population of more than 250 million people, covering cities with a thick layer of grime and making it difficult to breathe without face masks.
Between Friday and Saturday, the land area being blasted by the sandstorm reached 1.8 million square kilometers in 16 provinces with a total population of 270 million.
The dense sandstorm packing strong winds created serious pollution in Beijing Saturday, and the Beijing Meteorological Bureau ranked the air quality at a rare level 5, the most hazardous pollution level. Beijing citizens were cautioned to protect their eyes and wear facemasks.
Yang Weixi, chief engineer at the sand prevention and control office of the State Administration of Forestry, told the Global Times Sunday that sandstorms in China result from a variety of geographical factors that cannot be controlled, suggesting that the problem will last for years.
"There are lots of Gobi desert areas in northwest China that will not change in a short time," Yang said. "Siberian windstorms will occur frequently for geological reasons." Yang said the current waves of sand originated in Mongolia, and the sandstorm gained force while traveling across China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
The government has planted thousands of acres of vegetation in north China to stop the spread of desert sand dunes, which has proved helpful but still has a long way to go, Yang said.
An Baiyou, a truck driver in east China's Shandong Province, told the Global Times Sunday that the visibility was less than 500 meters in Linyi city Saturday due to the sandstorm, and he had to drive his truck very slowly.
Tang Shunying, a female tourist arriving in Beijing from Shandong Province, said in an interview with the Global Times that she had to cancel her sightseeing trip to Tian'anmen Square Saturday and stayed inside her hotel all day long to escape from the sandstorm.
"It's not wise to go out for sightseeing in such horrible weather," Tang said. "The weather report said a new wave of sandstorms is coming, and I should stay indoors."
