Sandstorms 'unlikely'
- Source: Global Times
- [08:38 March 23 2011]
- Comments
Dust and sand blow through Beijing's Central Business District on March 18. Photo: CFP
By Li Shuang
Beijing is predicted to see five to eight "blowing sand" days this spring, compared to the 7.9-day average of the past seven years, according to the Beijing Meteorological Bureau.
"Blowing sand" is the term for the type of gritty weather that ranks third out of four categories, the more serious two being sandstorms and strong sandstorms, which are unlikely to occur this spring, according to the Beijing Meteorological Bureau. The lowest category is floating dust, and all are determined based on visibility and wind speed, explained bureau weather forecaster Sun Jisong.
Blowing sand means visibility is between one and 10 kilometers, Sun said. It is upgraded to a sand storm when visibility drops to under one kilometer.
The bureau issued its sand forecast after a meeting with the National Climate Center and meteorological bureaus of Tianjin Municipality, Shanxi Province, Hebei Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday.
Sources of dust within the city have been significantly reduced, especially through covering up open urban construction sites and via conservation efforts in suburban Beijing, said Sun.
"The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental Protection has made it mandatory in the past year for all open construction sites to cover up dust sources. It's significantly reduced the amount of dust that originates locally," Sun said.
An additional plan to plant 6,667 square kilometers of trees in Hebei Province over the next 10 years to further buffer Beijing's environment was revealed in a March 8 People's Daily report.
"The city has not seen any sandy days yet this spring," said You Fengchun, chief weather forecaster at the Beijing Meteorological Bureau.
