Sandstorm sweeps across Beijing

Strong winds and heavy dust swept across the capital city on Sunday morning, reducing visibility, and will last until Sunday night, according to Beijing Meteorological Service.

The Beijing municipal observatory took precautions against the sandstorm on Saturday, issuing a blue alert for a gale and yellow alert for dust at 11:05 am that morning. It was expected wind speeds would reach 13-20 meters per second in parts of the capital city on Sunday.

Visibility was low on Sunday morning, at 1 kilometer at most, said Zhang Linna, chief weather forecaster at the Beijing Meteorological Station.

The wind will lessen as night approaches on Sunday, Zhang said, adding that some dust may blow back on Monday afternoon due to the wind shifting to the south.

She advised the public to close doors and windows during the sandstorm and suggested children, the elderly and those with respiratory allergies reduce their outdoor activities as much as possible.