In pics | China: Sandstorm hit Beijing witnesses dangerous pollution
China's capital city shrouded in smog
Several provinces in China are set to witness thick sandstorms will hit, including the capital city of Beijing, through Wednesday, reported Reuters citing the state media. While the city faces regular sandstorms in March and April as it is near the large Gobi desert, it has seen regular air pollution and an unseasonal number of sandstorms over the past few weeks.
Authorities in Beijing issue 'yellow alert'
As of Tuesday morning, Beijing authorities issued a yellow alert warning for sandstorms which is the third highest among the four-tier, colour-coded, weather-warning system with red representing the most severe warning and blue the least severe.
How bad is it?
Several residents of the city, on Tuesday morning, woke up to smog and misty grey clouds with the real-time air quality index was at a serious pollution level, reported Reuters citing data from the Beijing Municipal Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center.
Meanwhile, the Chinese government's Ministry of Ecology and Environment have attributed the recent rise in the number of sandstorms which is four times higher than in the 1960s to the rise in temperatures and lower precipitation in the deserts of north China and neighbouring Mongolia, as per Reuters.
Residents of Beijing during the sandstorm
"When I woke up this morning I was a bit worried because the wind was so strong," a 34-year-old Beijing resident and a local IT worker, Wang, told Reuters, wearing a thick KF94 mask and parka to protect himself from the onslaught of dust. Several images of the city on Tuesday show people trying to shield themselves from the dust and strong winds.
Air Quality in Beijing worsens
According to IQAir, a website that issues air quality data and information, the concentration of fine particulates in the air in Beijing is currently 46.2 times the World Health Organization's annual air quality guideline value.
"When I got back from work last night, I think it (PM 2.5) had pretty obviously shot up, and then I felt uncomfortable breathing. When I got up and came out this morning, I deliberately put my (parka) hood on, because I think my whole body smelled a bit dusty after this sandstorm hit," told local IT worker and 45-year-old Beijing resident told Reuters.
At least a dozen other provinces to be affected
According to the Central Meteorological Observatory, at least a dozen more provinces like Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Hubei, Inner Mongolia and metropolis Shanghai will be affected by the sandstorms and major dust till 8:00 am (local time), reported Reuters.
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