Sand Storm, Then Dust Storm in China

Following a severe sand storm in northeast China Thursday, a severe dust storm swept over China Sunday, reducing visibility and causing dust particulates to be measured at 222 times normal, according to this Xinhua article. It also knocked the temperature down by 5-8 degrees Celsius, pretty impressive for a sandstorm. According to a local environmental deputy, "This is the worst and the strangest sandstorm that has swept Artux since 1993."

In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, skyscrapers are blurred in sand storm in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin province, on Friday March 10, 2006. A sand storm, the first this year, hit most parts of north China from March 9, Xinhua said. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Gong Lei)

Additional photos are available in an article on the Chinese Meteorological Agency's website.