Winds to clear out weekend sandstorm

Winds to clear out weekend sandstorm

• Source: Global Times
• [09:40 March 21 2011]
• Comments

Dust covers the Kunsha Center in Chaoyang district Sunday. Photo: Wang Zi

By Fang Yunyu

The capital experienced this year's first sandstorm last weekend, which was brought by strong winds from Mongolia, according to the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

"The air quality will improve tonight," Wang Xiaoming, the environmental bureau's spokesman, told the Global Times Sunday.

Wang said, a cold current hitting northern China had first swept dust through Beijing on Friday, followed by a southeast wind which carried the dust back, worsening air quality.

However, he assured that today a north wind would clear the dust out.

During the weekend, several of the bureau's surveillance stations had detected higher than normal levels of particulate matter, a major indicator of air pollution, registering between 300 and 600 milligrams per cubic meter.

Besides the visible air pollution, some people expressed even greater concern over invisible airborne threats, as the nuclear crisis in Japan continues to intensify.

To ease public concern, the municipal bureau has begun issuing daily reports of radiation levels.

The city experienced 79.2 nanograys per hour Sunday afternoon.

According to the bureau, radiation levels below 250 nanograys per hour are considered safe.

A class-5 northern wind will hit the capital beginning today and drop temperatures to around 10 degrees Celsius, according to the Beijing Meteorological Bureau.