China Issues Continuous Yellow Dust Warnings... Gray Skies Expected Until the 14th

Yellow dust originating from northern China is expanding its influence southward due to cold air and strong winds.

The China Central Meteorological Observatory issued a blue alert for yellow dust from 6 p.m. on the 12th to 8 p.m. on the 13th for western regions including Xinjiang and northern areas such as Beijing, as well as regions including Shanghai, Jiangsu Province, Hubei, and Zhejiang. China's yellow dust alerts are divided into four levels: blue, yellow, orange, and red, with red being the most severe pollution level.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

Following the yellow dust that began on the 9th in the northwestern Xinjiang and the desert areas of northern Inner Mongolia, a new sandstorm has occurred, spreading to Beijing, Shandong, and Henan, and further expanding its influence inland and to the south.

In the affected areas, it is recommended that children and the elderly avoid outdoor activities as much as possible and wear masks when going outside. Drivers are also urged to prepare for poor visibility conditions. Some schools have completely suspended outdoor activities for students. Additionally, authorities have issued guidelines to keep doors and windows tightly closed and to firmly secure structures that can be easily blown away by the wind. Due to this yellow dust, the fine dust (PM10) concentration in Shanghai, which had recently enjoyed good air quality, soared to 500㎍/㎥ on the morning of the 12th.

Yellow dust accompanied by winds of levels 4 to 6 is expected to occur from the evening of the 13th to the 14th in Beijing, Tianjin, Henan, northern Jiangsu, Anhui Province, and other areas. However, the China National Astronomical Observatory forecasts that the range and intensity of the yellow dust will be weaker than those from the 9th to the 11th.

Wu Li, Chief Service Officer of the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau, explained, "Due to the lack of rainfall across Mongolia and the entire northern Inner Mongolia region of China, vegetation has diminished, exposing surface soil and sand, which makes yellow dust easily occur."

Meanwhile, according to the China Central Meteorological Observatory, there have been eight occurrences of yellow dust in China this year alone, which is more than the usual 2 to 6 times. The yellow dust is expected to continue until next month, making it the most frequent in the past 10 years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.