Sandstorm problems spread

Severe sandstorms from the Gobi Desert are cloaking Beijing and northeastern regions of China for the fourth time in a month and affecting air quality from South Korea to Japan

MONGOLIA
GOBI DESERT
CHINA 
Beijing
Shanghai
Seoul
Tokyo
JAPAN

Beijing (above): Concentration of fine particulates in air is almost 30 times World Health Organization’s air quality guideline value


1978 – Great Green Wall: China plants trees and boosts forest areas to hold back expansion of Gobi Desert

Sandstorms: Four times worse than in 1960s


SOUTH KOREA Apr 11, Gangneung: Wildfires cause evacuation of 300 people

Apr 12: Sandstorms forecast to affect visibility in Tokyo

Mar-Apr 2023: Dry weather causes fires across Mongolia’s grasslands and China’s forests

EAST CHINA SEA

400km 250 miles

Sources: Bloomberg, AirKorea, Japan Met Agency Picture: Getty Images
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