Beijing dust storm expected to linger in city until Sunday

The dust storm that has enshrouded the Chinese capital since Wednesday night won't disperse until Sunday, the city's environmental watchdog said.

Beijing was hit by another wave of floating dust and sand on Thursday, with the intensity of PM10 (particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 10 micrograms) reaching 595 micrograms per cubic meter in the southwestern part of the city, and 496 downtown.

According to the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center, the sandstorm originated in the northeastern part of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and has lingered in Beijing due to the slow wind speed close to the ground.