A second major sandstorm in China has reversed the colors of the sky over most of its larger cities as cities like Beijing woke up this week to a blue sun and yellow-orange clouds.
The China Meteorological Administration said that the latest sandstorm is caused by strong winds coming from drought-hit Mongolia and north-western China. The agency had issued a yellow alert for northern Chinese provinces, including Hebei, Shanxi, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia.
According to the country's real-time air quality index, pollution levels rose to a maximum level of 500. Levels of the pollutant PM10, which can penetrate the lungs, passed 2,000 micrograms per cubic meter. Levels of PM2.5 pollutants, which can penetrate the bloodstream, hit 462.
Visibility in cities such as Beijing was greatly reduced by the sandstorm. Residents were told to use eye and face coverings when going out. Airports across the northern part of China were forced to cancel flights due to poor visibility.
The chief forecaster for China's Central Meteorological Observatory, Zhang Tao, said that the relatively warmer temperatures have reduced rainfall in the northern part of the country resulting in larger areas of bare earth. He said that the north and northwestern parts of China also had less snow cover and rain this year as compared to previous years.
Zhang said that the dry weather combined with stronger than usual winds are causing the recent dust storms. He said that average temperatures in northern China and large parts of Mongolia continue to be higher than normal.
Sandstorms have hit the region before, mostly after Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward in 1961. The campaign saw major deforestation in the northern regions, which have resulted in deserts spreading further south.
In an attempt to reduce the frequency of sandstorms, China previously implemented its "great green wall" initiative. The campaign involved the planting of hundreds of thousands of trees to trap incoming dust from the northern deserts.
