BEIJING, March 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese capital Beijing was enveloped in yellow dust on Monday morning with a visibility of less than 1 km, as the city's meteorological department issued a yellow warning for sandstorms, the third hazardous level.
In response to the dusty weather, Beijing Daxing International Airport launched a low visibility operation mechanism as the visibility reduced to only 400-800 meters at the airport, affecting a number of flights.
The meteorological department forecast the weather condition to last till 2 p.m. Monday, with visibility expected to gradually improve thereafter.
According to its weather report, the sandstorm blew from north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region due to the effect of cyclones and strong winds. It arrived at the northwestern Hebei Province neighboring Beijing on Sunday night before moving toward Beijing.
The concentration of hazardous airborne particles of PM10 in most areas exceeded 2,000 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday, according to the Beijing Municipal Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center. Besides, a heavy concentration of 3,572 micrograms per cubic meter was observed in Beijing's Haidian District.
The meteorological department of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region issued an orange warning for the sandstorm on Monday, which is only second to red, the most severe level. The strong sandstorm also affected the northeast of Alxa League as well as cities in Ordos and Baotou. Enditem
