Dust weather hits Beijing on April 19, 2026. Photo: VCG

A Mongolian cyclone has recently triggered widespread dust and sandstorms across northern China, affecting over 10 provinces, with its influence reaching the Sichuan Basin in Southwest China’s Sichuan Province, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Monday. 

Satellite and ground monitoring data show the dust storm originated in southern Mongolia, southern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the western Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Starting from the night of last Friday, blowing sand and suspended dust were reported across Northwest China, North China, and the majority area of Northeast China. In areas such as Turpan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, and Guaizi Lake in Inner Mongolia, sandstorms or severe sandstorms occurred, with visibility dropping below one kilometer, CCTV reported. 

Ground monitoring stations recorded PM10 levels at the Minqin station in Northwest China’s Gansu Province peaked at 1,035 micrograms per cubic meter, with the lowest visibility at 1.4 kilometers. At the Dengkou station in Inner Mongolia, PM10 levels peaked at 1,698 micrograms per cubic meter, with the lowest visibility at 2.4 kilometers, according to CCTV. 

While primarily hitting the northern China, the dust event has also affected Sichuan Basin over the past two days. Monitoring data show that Chengdu recorded a peak PM10 concentration exceeding 600 micrograms per cubic meter, with visibility reduced to just 3 to 4 kilometers, per CCTV. 

Dust storms are generally perceived to occur in Northwest China and North China and are rarely seen in the Sichuan Basin, Gui Hailin, chief forecaster from China’s National Meteorological Center, explained that the basin can be reached by dust storms via a distinct pathway. 

Dust originating from southern Mongolia and western Inner Mongolia is driven by cold air, passing through Ningxia, Shaanxi, and Gansu, and crossing the Qinling Mountains into the Sichuan Basin. Therefore, when a westward cold-air track coincides with suitable dust source regions, dust events in the Sichuan Basin become a common weather phenomenon, CCTV reported. 

Monitoring data indicates that sand and dust storms in China have declined overall in recent years. However, due to climate anomalies, cross-border dust sources, and atmospheric circulation fluctuations, episodic and extreme dust events still occur from time to time, according to CCTV. 

Sand and dust storms are a natural phenomenon that can occur as long as the necessary conditions are met, even without human interference. However, intensified human activities can damage existing surface vegetation, thereby increasing the frequency of dust events or worsening their severity, according to CCTV. 

Since 1949, floating dust, blowing sand, and sandstorms in Beijing have exhibited an irregular but overall declining trend, meteorological monitoring data showed. Various types of dust events peaked in the 1950s at an average of 63 per year, hitting a high of 89 in 1954, before falling to 5.7 events per year in the 1990s, CCTV reported. 

The situation is similar across the country. Over the past 20 years, spring dust storms have declined in both frequency and intensity, dropping from 20.9 events per year on average in the 1960s to 8.4 in the past decade, while the average number of dust days has decreased by 1.63 days per decade, CCTV reported. 

At present, China remains in a generally low-dust period, but dust storm frequency – driven by mid- and high-latitude circulation – varies year to year. Despite a recent uptick this year compared with recent years, the frequency remains within normal ranges over a longer time scale, with long-term fluctuations expected to continue, per CCTV. 

Global Times