Sandy weather forecast for northern regions

Sandy and dusty weather caused by a cold front is forecast for northern regions across China until Friday, the National Meteorological Center said on Monday.

From Monday to Tuesday, the Xinjiang Uygur, Ningxia Hui and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions and Hebei and Gansu provinces will experience sandy and dusty weather.

From Wednesday to Friday, strong winds will carry it to more areas in North and Northeast China. From Wednesday through Thursday, heavy rain will hit western parts of China, the center said.

The China Meteorological Administration's Tianqi.com website said that from the start of the year to Saturday, the country had seen six rounds of sandy and dusty weather. More than 20 provinces and regions have been affected, including ones as far south as Anhui and Zhejiang provinces.

Even Shanghai and Hangzhou, Zhejiang's provincial capital, which both lie along the Yangtze River and have more water resources than many parts of the country, have suffered from the sandy and dusty weather, which is something rarely seen.

Northern China witnessed its strongest sandstorm in nearly a decade on March 15, with the National Meteorological Center saying the sand was blown from Mongolia, and that was followed by a series of others to the end of the month.

The level of PM10 particles in six major urban districts in Beijing reached 8,108 micrograms per cubic meter on March 15, according to the Beijing Ecological and Environment Monitoring Center.

Zhang Juan, an analyst from Tianqi.com, said that since February, temperatures in Mongolia and western parts of China's Inner Mongolia have been 2 C to 6 C higher than usual. That caused snow to melt earlier than usual, exposing sandy ground.

"In early spring, vegetation coverage in northern areas has not had time to grow and dust is easily blown up into the air," she said.

"Mongolian cyclones, like a fan, lifted sand and dust high into the air and carried them to eastern and southern areas."

According to Tianqi.com, April was the month that saw the most episodes of sandy and dusty weather in the past two decades, with an average of 4.3, followed by 3.6 in March and 2.8 in May. Eighty percent of sandstorms occurred in those three months.

It warned people to reduce outdoor activities when sandstorms hit and prepare well if they have to go out. They are also advised to stay away from high-rise buildings and billboards.