Beijing was shrouded in a thick haze on Sunday as it suffered its first "yellow dust" storm of the year after wind blew in sand from drought-hit northern China.The sand came from Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, where sandstorms raged earlier this week after prolonged drought, the central meteorological bureau said on its website.
Northerly winds were also kicking up dust from work sites in Beijing adding to the yellowish skies, it said.
The bureau warned residents to remain indoors and refrain from robust outdoor activities.
Forecasters said earlier this month that annual dust storms will be particularly bad this spring because north China and the deserts of Mongolia, where they originate, suffered the worst drought in 50 years.
Industrial pollutants
The yellow dust sometimes includes industrial pollutants emitted by Chinese factories and have spread as far as South Korea, Japan and even the United States.
To protect themselves from such storms, South Koreans began stocking up on air purifiers last month following forecasts of severe dust storms from China in the coming months.
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