Choking dust storm, strong winds delay more than 1,100 flights in Beijing
A dust storm turned inner Mongolia's sky an eerie yellow on May 3. Dust and sand also hit other parts of northern China, including Beijing. The dust storm is expected to stay until May 5.
More than 1,100 flights have been delayed in Beijing from Thursday to Friday after the city was struck by a choking dust storm and strong winds.
The dust storm swept from Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to northeastern China from Wednesday night through Thursday.
The dust reached Beijing during the early morning hours of Thursday and held a grip on the city through Friday morning.
A traffic warden closes the gate on bicycle lane near Tiananmen Square as Beijing is hit by polluted air and sandstorm Thursday, May 4, 2017. A sandstorm blown by gusting winds enveloped a huge area of central and northern China on Thursday in thick pollution hazardous to people venturing outdoors. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Visibility at Beijing's Capital International Airport was held between 2 and 3.6 km (1.25 and 2.25 miles) from 5:30 a.m. CST Thursday (5:30 p.m. EDT Wednesday) to 9:00 a.m. CST Friday (9:00 p.m. EDT Thursday) as gusty northwesterly winds ushered in the dust.
The dust worsened the air quality in the city with the United States Department of State Air Quality Monitoring Program reporting the air quality index peaking at 621 on Thursday. Values over 300 are considered hazardous.
<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">05-04-2017 12:00; PM2.5; 684.0; 621; Beyond Index (at 24-hour exposure at this level)</p>— BeijingAir (@BeijingAir) <a href="https://twitter.com/BeijingAir/status/859984708095979520">May 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js</center>
While the dust cleared Beijing on Friday morning, strong gusty winds continued to plague the city through the day.
The winds developed in the wake of a cold front that pushed through during the early morning hours. A gust to 96 km/h (60 mph) in the morning was followed by more frequent gusts between 55 and 75 km/h (35 and 46 mph) the rest of day.
The winds will decrease on Friday night before increasing on Saturday with gusts of 45-55 km/h (28-35 mph). Minor flight delays may once again plague airline passengers.
With more dust streaming from Mongolia into northeastern China on Friday evening, the winds could push more dust over Beijing to start the weekend.
The one advantage to the cold front was that it ushered in noticeably cooler air, finally giving the city a break from the recent unseasonable warmth.
"Friday was the first day with below-normal temperatures since 26 April," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls said.
A high of 24.4 C (76 F) is more common in Beijing this time of year. Temperatures on Friday struggled to climb to 21 C (70 F).
Beijing experienced its hottest April day last Saturday, 29 April, when temperatures soared to 33.5 C (92.3 F).
"After the cooldown, it will be back to summer for the city from Sunday well into next week," Nicholls said.
Beijing will face a prolonged stretch of highs ranging from 31-33 C (88-91 F).
Report a Typo
