Beijing turns yellow as sand, dust storms engulf Chinese capital
Air quality worsened
On Thursday, Beijing's air quality index rose to 324 at 4:00 pm local time on Thursday, largely due to sand and dust storms, local officials said.
By evening, the index exceeded 1,300 in some regions of the city, according to the Swiss IQAir app.
Mongolian particles
The China Meteorological Administration said that the particles came from Mongolia and the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia.
It also said that high winds are likely to take the pollutants to central and eastern China by Friday.
'Don't feel good'
"I don't feel good. We have had several dust storms this year," Gary Zi, a 48-year-old Beijing resident who works in the finance sector said.
"The (air) quality is much worse than in previous years," Gary added.
"Breathing becomes difficult. Sand gets into your eyes and your nose."
Blame on Mongolian desert
Generally, China blames Mongolia's Gobi desert for its annual dust storms.
Last month, delegates from China's arid Gansu region in a proposal to parliament said that more than half of the dust storms that enter China come each year from abroad, majorly from the south of Mongolia.
Great Green Wall
Beijing has been planting millions of trees along its border to counter sandstorms, as part of a project called the "Great Green Wall".
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