China: Sandstorms hit Beijing and Curse of the Golden cover breathing harmful

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For the first time this year, the northern part of the mainland was hit by a large-scale sandstorm, and at least 12 provinces and cities were affected yesterday. The China Meteorological Administration also pointed out that the scale of this dust storm is the strongest in the past decade, and it is estimated that more than 64 million people will be affected. The entire city of Beijing has turned yellow, visibility in most areas is less than one kilometer, and the air pollution index has also blow. More than 420 flights will be cancelled. The Central Meteorological Observatory predicts that the sandstorm will only gradually weaken and dissipate until this Wednesday.

According to the remote sensing map of the northern part of the inland, the dust storm originated in southern Mongolia. The Central Meteorological Observatory issued a yellow warning for sandstorms yesterday morning, and it is expected that 12 provinces and cities including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and Shanxi will be hit by sandstorms of varying degrees in the near future. According to the China Meteorological Administration, this is also the strongest sandstorm in the country, and its distribution is also the widest in the past decade. It is estimated that the area of ​​the dust storm shown by the satellite is about 466,000 square kilometers, and it is estimated that the affected population is about 64.17 million.

The capital, Beijing, was also affected by sandstorms yesterday. According to internal media footage, the local area was covered by sand and dust early in the morning. The city was pale yellow, the sky turned orange, and people on the street were wearing masks. The city’s landmarks such as the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Gate, National Grand Theater, Bird’s Nest and CCTV Building are all hidden behind the yellow sand in the sky. More than 420 flights at Beijing's two major airports were cancelled, and many trunk lines across the city were heavily congested in the morning.

A Beijing resident pointed out to this newspaper that the dust storm has been overwhelming since the morning, and even if you force to go out, you can't open your eyes at all. The visibility is only tens of meters, so you don't dare to go out all day. He pointed out that if a resident forgets to close the window under a sandstorm, his house must be covered with "thick dust." Therefore, residents generally stay at home and wait for it. He agreed that this was indeed the worst sandstorm in the past decade, and pointed out that with the end of the National Congress of the People's Republic of China, the factories in Beijing are now at full capacity to increase production, making the sandstorm contain more pollutants.

The Beijing Meteorological Bureau also issued a sandstorm warning signal yesterday morning, urging all district education committees, directly affiliated schools, secondary vocational schools and off-campus educational institutions to suspend outdoor activities and take good health protection. According to the Beijing Environmental Monitoring website, Beijing’s air quality index at noon yesterday was 500, the highest level of the index, and the pollution level was six, reaching a severe pollution level. The PM2.5 readings of floating particles in counties in the city are also close to 300 micrograms per cubic meter, which is far higher than the Chinese standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter and the stricter WHO standard of 25 micrograms per cubic meter.

But ironically, the mainland official media "People's Daily" boasted on the full page 13 of the mainland's sand control project during the 13th Five-Year Plan period yesterday, claiming to complete more than 10 million hectares of sand control tasks in five years, and last year even completed the control task. The sand control area is 2.09 million hectares. The report sparked heated discussions among a large number of netizens. They believed that yesterday was the International Consumer Rights Day. The CCP’s mouthpiece report was indeed "appropriate" and criticized: "Evil and evil are rewarded!" Where are those trees?"

According to the Central Meteorological Observatory, the sandstorm in the north will gradually weaken and dissipate starting this Wednesday. However, the South Korean Meteorological Department predicted yesterday that this wave of sandstorms will blow to South Korea early this morning. Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Agency pointed out that recently Taiwan’s main easterly winds and weak wind speeds will basically not be affected by this wave of sandstorms.