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Beijing and cities in the Mongolian Plateau[5] regularly experience sandstorms in March and April, partially due to their proximity to the Gobi Desert.[6][7] The issue has been compounded since the 1950s due to widespread deforestation and soil erosion.[8][9] In particular, forests on the border with Mongolia were cut down, which previously provided protection against sand from the Gobi Desert.[9] In 1978, China started the Three-North Shelter Forest Program to counteract the effects, in particular by planting new trees on 35 million hectares of land to trap incoming dust.[10] Air corridors were also created to allow sand to pass more quickly. The country's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said these measures were reducing the impact and duration of sandstorms.[6][8] The average number of sandy days in Beijing has fallen from 26 in the 1950s to 3 in 2010.[10]
Immediately prior to the sandstorm, Beijing had been experiencing high levels of pollution, with the city covered in smog, as a result of heavy industry work to recover from the pandemic.[6][10]
Impact
Mongolian Plateau
In Mongolia the sandstorm caused 10 deaths.[11] In three cities in the Chinese region of Inner Mongolia schools were cancelled and the public transport system was temporarily halted.[12] Flights out of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital, were grounded.[6]
The sandstorm was the strongest experienced in Ningxia in 19 years.[13] Outdoor activities in schools had been cancelled, although schools were left open.[14]
The sandstorm ended in the east, before appearing again in Wuhai on March 19.[15] On March 20, a blue alert for sandstorms was issued in central Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and the North China Plain, but spread further west to Xinjiang as well.[16]
Rest of China
Beijing during the sandstorm
The sandstorm was the biggest to hit China in a decade, causing pollution levels in some districts to rise to 160 times the recommended limit.[6][4] It affected 12 provinces in China, including the Chinese capital Beijing which the storm hit on March 15.[4]
Visibility in Beijing was lowered to less than 1,000 feet (300 m).[17] Over 400 flights at the city's main airports – Capital Airport and Daxing Airport – were cancelled, a fifth of all flights and more than the typical number for Asian Dust sandstorms.[1][18] Visibility at the Beijing Daxing airport had dropped to 400–800 metres.[19]PM2.5 levels in Beijing reached a maximum 680 micrograms per cubic meter, the highest levels seen since May 2017,[10] and the PM10 air quality index peaked at a maximum reading of 999. Guidelines from the World Health Organization suggest that PM2.5 levels above 25 μg/m^3 are unsafe.[20]PM10 levels reached over 8,100 micrograms per cubic metre in six central districts.[4] Schools have been told to cancel outdoor events, and people with respiratory diseases, as well as children and older residents, were advised to stay indoors.[4][17][21]
The city of Tangshan – a major source of industrial pollution – stated it would sanction companies for not carrying out emergency anti-smog measures.[8]
China's environment ministry stated the storm would dissipate by 18 March.[6]
