China sandstorm worst in a decade

BEIJING — China’s capital and a wide swath of the country’s north were enveloped Monday in the worst sandstorm in a decade, forcing cancellation of hundreds of flights.

Skyscrapers in the center of Beijing appeared to drop from sight amid the dust and sand. Traffic was snarled and more than 400 flights out of the capital’s two main airports were canceled amid high winds and low visibility.

The National Meteorological Center said the storm had developed in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region, where schools were advised to close and bus service was added to reduce residents’ exposure to the harsh conditions.

Such storms used to occur regularly in the springtime as sand from western deserts blew east, affecting areas as far as northern Japan.

Widespread planting of trees and bushes in fragile areas has reduced the effects on other parts of the country in recent years, but the expansion of cities and industries, along with strip mining and overgrazing, has put constant pressure on the environment throughout China. With its mix of desert and grassy steppe, Inner Mongolia is particularly prone to extreme weather resulting from resource exploitation.

Sandstorms are a reminder of the need to respect nature, said Zhou Jinfeng, secretary general of the conservation group China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation.

“We should change our behavior,” Zhou said.