Tianjin is braving a sandstorm that caused high air pollution levels on Thursday afternoon with level eleven wind gusts in some areas, a rare phenomenon for this time of the year.
According to the Tianjin Municipal Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center, the air quality index (AQI) in Tianjin hit 500 on Thursday afternoon, the highest possible reading on the scale.
The Central Meteorological Observatory will continue to issue a blue dust storm warning: Affected by the cold air and gale, from 08:00 on the 6th to 08:00 on the 7th in the western part of Xinjiang’s southern Xinjiang basin and central Inner Mongolia. There are sand or floating dust weather in western, Ningxia, central and northern Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, central and northern Shandong, northern Henan, southern Liaoning, etc. Among them, there are sandstorms in central parts of Inner Mongolia and strong sandstorms locally.
China was hit by the largest sandstorm in a decade on March 15 followed by a second on March 28. When a third sandstorm hit Beijing and Tianjin on April 15, an expert team sent by China's forestry and meteorological authorities arrived in the deserts of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to do field research on the contributing factors for this year's frequent sandstorms across northern China.
Defense guide:
1. Prepare for wind and sand prevention, and close doors and windows in time;
2. Pay attention to bringing masks, gauze and other dust-proof supplies to prevent sand and dust from damaging the eyes and respiratory tract; do a good job of sealing precision instruments;
3. Tighten hoardings, scaffolds, temporary structures and other structures that are easily blown by the wind, and properly arrange outdoor objects that are easily affected by sandstorms;
4. Due to the low visibility, the driver should control the speed to ensure safety.