Tonnes of sand from deserts in China's interior blew into Beijing on Saturday, shrouding China's capital in a yellow-orange haze that authorities warned made the air quality "hazardous". There were few people out on streets where pedestrians could taste the dust. Many of those who had ventured from their homes were wearing facemasks, and some left footprints in the yellow film that had settled on the city's streets. Beijing's weather forecasting bureau gave the air quality a rare "5", or hazardous, rating and added that it was "not suitable for morning exercises," according to a report of Reuters. The sandstorm hit Beijing around midnight, carrying huge amounts of dust and heading south east, the official Xinhua news agency said. In northern Changping district, the wind reached speeds of up to 100 km per hour (60 mph). The swirling clouds of dust and sand had blanketed the interior provinces of Qinghai and Gansu, and western Xinjiang region, before sweeping over the capital, Xinhua said.
