BEIJING (AP) – China’s capital and much of the north of the country were shrouded in the worst sandstorm in a decade on Monday, leading to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
Skyscrapers in the center of Beijing seemed to fall from view amid the dust and sand. Traffic was throttled and more than 400 flights from the capital’s two main airports were canceled before noon.
Such storms were frequent in the spring, when sand from western deserts blew eastward and hit areas as far as northern Japan.
Massive planting of trees and shrubs in sensitive areas has reduced the intensity of the storms, but the expansion of cities and industries has put the environment under constant pressure across China.
The National Meteorological Center predicted that the sand and dust would hit 12 provinces and regions, from Xinjiang in the far northwest to Heilongjiang in the northeast and the eastern coastal port city of Tianjin.
“This is the most intense sandstorm weather our country has experienced in 10 years, and it covers the widest area,” the center said in a post on its website.
It was not clear whether the storm was linked to a recent general deterioration in air quality, despite efforts to end Beijing’s suffocating smog.
The ruling Communist Party has pledged to reduce CO2 emissions per unit of economic output by 18% over the next five years. Environmentalists say China needs to do more to reduce its dependence on coal, making it the world’s largest emitter of climate-changing gases.