A massive and deadly sandstorm in China tearing eastwards from Inner Mongolia left at least six persons dead and more than 80 missing in its path, while pushing air pollution to such high levels in Beijing it couldn't be measured.
The Central Meteorological Observatory (CMO) called Monday's black blizzard "the most intense sand-dust weather process in China" over the past decade. It also said the range of sand-dust storms was the widest in the same time span.
The sandstorm that originated in Inner Mongolia turned the sky orange because of the intense air pollution. It skyrocketed PM10 pollution levels to an almost unimaginable 10,000 micrograms per cubic meter in the city center, which is hazardous to human health.
Chinese meteorological authorities issued the second highest alert level shortly before 7.30 a.m., which stayed in place until midday. A broader warning for sand and dust from the western desert regions was put in effect until Tuesday morning.
Several Chinese on social media shared screenshots of air quality indices showing readings of more than 9,000 micrograms per cubic meter, which is officially "beyond index." Air quality indices repeatedly recorded a "hazardous" 999 rating on Monday.
CMO confirmed PM10 concentrations in the core area of Beijing came close to 10,000 micrograms per cubic meter. The amount of PM10 hit an average of more than 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter at 8:00 a.m. in Beijing. The index topped 2,000 micrograms per cubic meter in some northern areas of Beijing, said CMO.
The Beijing Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow warning for sandstorms at 7:25 a.m., warning the public to take precautions. The yellow warning means people are encouraged to suspend any outdoor activities and to wear protective facemasks.
Beijing had not seen an intense sandstorm for years until this one, but actually sandstorms have never gone away, said Wang Gengchen, a research fellow at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to the Global Times.
Zhao Yingmin, vice minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said the concentration of the sandstorm "far exceeds the concentration of dust storms that the meteorological department can predict, indicating that we do not have enough knowledge of its nature."
"Today's sandstorm is mainly due to natural factors, but it also shows that our ecological environment is still very fragile," he noted.
Scientists claim the sandstorm situation in China has improved in the last few years with the country's efforts to curb the expansion of desertification and combat the upstream sand and dust from Inner Mongolia and neighboring country Mongolia.
This challenge has proven to be more taxing than expected because of the large areas of sand and dust it covers, according to Wang.
Experts said this wave of sandstorms is a result of the combined effects of cold air and cyclones from Mongolia. These atmospheric disturbances moved south with the airflow and started to affect Beijing from north to south starting 3:00 a.m. according to the Beijing Municipal Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center.
When Beijing's real time air quality index (AQI) was reading 999, Tokyo recorded 42, Sydney 17 and New York 26. Hong Kong and Taiwan recorded "moderate" readings of 66 and 87, respectively.
