Sandstorm

This isn't my view, of course, but this is what the sky looked like.

I experienced my first sandstorm here in Beijing. Apparently it turns the sky all yellow.

I tried to take some pictures of what it looks like outside my window, but my camera wouldn't pick up the yellow tint. It really did look yellow, though.

Here's a picture of my windowsill, though. The little yellow-orangish parts are grains of sand on the windowsill.


Basically, here's what you need to know. It was a Mongolian sandstorm that hit Beijing (so it came from the Northwest). The government issued a warning saying that the air is really hazardous today from the sand and pollution.

Like I said, I looked outside early this morning and everything was yellow. As the day progressed, the yellow went away. At about 3:00pm I decided to go outside. I could see the sand in the cracks and crevices of the ground, but I didn't really notice a difference in the air besides that it was really windy. Every now and then, I wouldn't even notice but I would close my teeth and I could feel sand between my teeth. I also put Blistex on before I left. I wiped my lip and I had some teeny tiny sand particles on my lips. So, even though I couldn't see it, it was still there.

I've seen a lot of people with facemasks on, but I never really understood why. I think I'm going to invest.

Here are some other pictures of Beijing from news articles that I found online:





Sandstorms are exciting. We don't get these in Maine, that's for sure.

It makes me wonder if maybe we could get a "sand day" off from school. Wouldn't that be cool. I think there's potential.

Here are the links to the news articles:
(Some Chinese News) http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2010-03/20/c_13218239.htm
(Boston Globe) http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2010/03/20/orange_sky_in_beijing_for_years_biggest_sandstorm/
(Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62J0DE20100320
(MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35959965/ns/world_news-asiapacific/