A haze of sand has enveloped northern China, leading to extreme air pollution in Beijing as the country’s expanding deserts blow into cities hundreds of kilometres away.
Air quality index scores for PM10 — particulate matter with a diameter of 10 microns or less — for Beijing and surrounding cities hovered around 900-999, the upper limit for AQI apps, on Thursday. The World Health Organization’s guidelines recommend a score no higher than 50.
Data from the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, a prominent green group in Beijing, shows the sandstorm originating in the southern edge of Gobi desert where the north-central regions of Gansu, Ningxia and Inner Mongolia meet.
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