Beijing, March 22 (BNA): The Chinese meteorological authorities said that the capital, Beijing, and many provinces in China will be affected by heavy, dense sandstorms that will severely affect visibility.
The Central Meteorological Observatory issued yellow warning signals from Wednesday to early Sunday morning for Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui and Hubei provinces.
Meteorologists said many areas will have low visibility, warning drivers to speed. Meteorologists added that the sandstorms will gradually move south and then weaken.
China has a four-tiered, colour-coded warning system, with red being the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.
Beijing, which also issued a yellow sandstorm warning, has experienced sand and dust storms over the past several days, sending pollution levels skyrocketing.
Pictures on social media showed people riding bicycles around the city in swirls of dust, one of which featured a sand-covered bike seat.
Beijing on Wednesday registered an air quality index of 500, raising the level of pollution to six considered highly hazardous to human health, according to the Beijing Center for Environmental Environment Monitoring.
The city experiences regular sandstorms during March and April due to its proximity to the massive Gobi Desert, as well as deforestation all over northern China.
WWA