Strong wind, sandstorms and concentrated dust are battering northern China – causing travel chaos and damaging property.

A 100-metre-high wall of sand rolled into Shandan County in Zhangye City at noon on Monday, engulfing the residential area and reducing visibility down to 10m.

Extraordinary footage showed the sandstorm towering above northern Gansu Province.

The country’s top meteorological authority has issued a yellow weather warning in more than 10 provinces, cautioning this could be China’s most severe sandstorm so far this year.

China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.

Jiayuguan City was also victim to thick dust and cooling temperatures, dropping to -2C (28.4F).

The local sanitation department responded by dispatching fog cannons and water sprinklers to reduce dust to minimise air pollution.

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was also hit by strong winds and dust, reducing visibility down to less than 50m in some areas.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Strong winds hit Aksu City at around noon on Monday, carrying sand and dust into the air.

The weather prompted the local traffic police department to activate a severe weather response, urging drivers to take extra care.

Read more from China:
Putin and Xi hold talks in the Kremlin
Analysis: West is unconvinced on China’s peacemaker role

Hejing County in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture was also enveloped – with less than 100m visibility due to the weather.

The National Meteorological Center has warned the weather will continue to be sandy and dusty into Wednesday in the southern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as well as in the northeastern part of China including Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Heibei, Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin.

In 2021, China saw its biggest sandstorm in more than a decade with the skies of Beijing turning orange.

The city’s 21.7 million residents were told to stay indoors as air quality indexes recorded a “hazardous” rating.

Related posts:

Kim Jong Un says North Korea is facing its ‘worst-ever situation’ Israel launches airstrikes on ‘Hamas military targets’ as it responds to rocket attacks Lionel Messi agrees to join Paris Saint-Germain on two-year contract after leaving Barcelona Body of missing British hiker Esther Dingley and her equipment found together in Pyrenees Russia completes controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline Nine firefighters killed after cave collapses during training exercise in Brazil Poland’s offer of MIG-29 fighter jets to be passed to Ukraine ‘not tenable’, US says Over 100 live animals found in women’s luggage Oscar Pistorius meets father of murdered partner as he seeks parole Icelandic volcano erupts near capital’s airport Netanyahu announces he has formed new coalition government Half of Shanghai’s population of 25 million ‘could have COVID by end of next week’