Strong Sandstorm Hits North China

Strong Sandstorm Hits North China
Sand and Dust obscures the Beijing skyline.
6/2/2008
Updated:
6/2/2008

A sand storm swept across large areas of Northern and Northeastern China during May 26 to 28, making it this year’s longest lasting and most widespread in China.

According to a May 28 report from the Desertification Monitoring Center of China’s Forestry Administration, the storm, caused by anticyclones from Mongolia and Southern Mongolia, hit hardest in Central Northern Inner-Mongolia.

From May 28, the dust started to spread into most of Northeastern China, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong Peninsula, Henan and Hebei provinces.

Beijing is choked by thick clouds of airborne sand. (BBS.PCPOP.com)
Beijing is choked by thick clouds of airborne sand. (BBS.PCPOP.com)

The sandstorm influenced 537 counties and cities through a total of 10 provinces in most of Northern and Northeastern China and Henan and Shandong provinces, covering a vast area of 1.9 million square kilometers with 29 million hectares of farmland, 3.65 million commercial forests and 56 million hectares of grass land and a population of 270 million. The sandstorm has been a hazard to human health and traffic safety as well as farming and livestock breeding.








The storm deposits thick dust on every surface in Beijing. (Club.Autohome.com.cn)
The storm deposits thick dust on every surface in Beijing. (Club.Autohome.com.cn)
Inner Mongolia is hit hard by the dust storm. (nmgcb.com.cn)
Inner Mongolia is hit hard by the dust storm. (nmgcb.com.cn)