A severe sandstorm has engulfed the Chinese capital Beijing and other regions in northern China. About 409 million people were affected, the Ministry of Forestry reported Tuesday, according to information from the Global Times newspaper.
Beijing’s air pollution index rose well above the upper scale limit to 1300 on Monday evening, while values of 150 are already considered “unhealthy”. Visibility dropped to several tens of meters.
The sandstorm came from southern Mongolia and affected other northern regions such as Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Xinjiang in addition to the 23 million metropolitan area, the ministry reported. An area of 2.29 million square kilometers was affected – 16 times the size of Germany. The weather center reported that northern China has already experienced more sandstorms this year than the average of the past decade.
With extremely high concentrations of PM10, the air index in Beijing was still around 900 on Tuesday morning, while a dust bubble hung over the capital. It was only during the course of the day that it slowly cleared up again with stronger winds. (saw/sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
