China renews blue alert for sandstorms

BEIJING, April 11 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory is continuing its blue alert for sandstorms in multiple regions from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Affected by cold fronts and heavy winds, floating sand and dust will sweep across areas including northwest China's Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, Hebei and Beijing in the north, the central provinces of Henan and Hubei, east China's Jiangsu and Shanghai, as well as Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning in the northeast, according to the National Meteorological Center.

It is the eighth time that a wide range of areas has been swept by floating sand and dust this year, and the fifth time in March.

The concentration of hazardous airborne PM10 particles in multiple areas of north China has exceeded 2,000 micrograms per cubic meter.

Experts have attributed the large-scale sandstorms to cold fronts, unstable air conditions and less precipitation in dust-source areas of Mongolia and China.

The sandstorms will gradually weaken from Tuesday night into the daytime on Wednesday, but some regions in the north and northwest parts of the country will continue to experience floating sand and dust from April 13 to 16, according to the center.

People have been advised to take precautions against wind and sandstorms, and drivers have been asked to prepare for poor visibility.

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