Chinese dust once again pollutes Japanese skies
Clouds of yellow sand from China are back again, polluting the skies over Japan and causing general unpleasantness.
A severe sandstorm has struck north-west China over the past few weeks, reaching Beijing on Saturday morning. The sandstorm, which covered homes, streets, and cars in dust, has left the sky a murky yellow. The air quality was rated as level five. Beijing’s Weather Bureau issued a warning for the sandstorm, and advised citizens to stay in their homes until it passes. As much as 1500 micrograms per cubic meter of dust were reported to be airborne.
Beijing has experienced unusually cold weather this year, with temperatures below freezing at night, even after the start of spring. The sandstorm is affecting more than 50 million people, and forecasters do not see signs of it stopping soon. The desertification of the western China and the Mongolian steppes has made the annual spring sandstorm become worse in the recent years, reaching countries such as South Korea and Japan.
Here are a few YouTube videos showing the situation as it appeared in Japan over the last 24 hours:
Japan and South Korea, both of which fall victim to the the winds from China, have been trying for years to assist in stopping the growth of dusty deserts in that country. As you can see, not much progress has been made.
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