The skies over Beijing changed colour as an unprecedented dust storm hit the Chinese capital on Monday. The China Meteorological Administration has since issued a yellow alert, as the sandstorms came from Inner Mongolia to the provinces of Gansu, Shanxi, and Hebei.
At the moment, the air quality index in Beijing has reached a maximum of 500, with the amount of PM10 (particles with a diameter of 10 microns or less, so they are inhalable into the lungs) surpassing 8,000 micrograms per cubic metre in some areas.
This is the corner tower of Forbidden City at #Beijing today. I have to say it feels so 'differently beautiful' from when the sky is clear.#sandstorm in #Beijing pic.twitter.com/zdyhKffyz6
— Ryan Tian (@rainiefield) March 15, 2021
Netizens posted numerous photos and videos on social media, depicting the situation in the city, showing the yellow sky and pointing out the harsh environmental situation.
There's a sandstorm in Beijing today, much of the North actually, looks pretty bad pic.twitter.com/Unp1UrGuXp
— 🌿社畜🔨 (@applesncrack) March 15, 2021
Nothing like starting the week with a solid Beijing sandstorm @Quicktake pic.twitter.com/eeuzkfvZwA
— Tom Mackenzie (@TomMackenzieTV) March 14, 2021
Two rooftop corgis enjoying the beyond index sandstorm in Beijing. pic.twitter.com/4JaAPsZEW3
— Ching-Ching Ni (@ccni) March 15, 2021
Some users compared the pictures to sci-fi movies and even made memes using footage from the sandstorm-hit city.
Today what actually happens in the Beijing sand storm pic.twitter.com/lRqaBADzmr
— Aiden Heung/艾登 (@AidenHeung) March 15, 2021
Beijing's colour today. Reminds me of SF's colour during the fire last year. Same Bladerunner 2049 energy, different environmental disasters.
— Jen Zhu (@jenzhuscott) March 15, 2021
Dust Sand Storm & Desertification (DSSD) in the north + west China has to be outpaced by the efforts of building a Green Great Wall. 🌳 pic.twitter.com/hH7NraXwyK
