By Kristina Pydynowski
4 May 2017 (AccuWeather) – Less than a week after enduring the hottest April day on record, Beijing was struck by a choking dust storm on Thursday and may not experience relief through Friday. The dust storm has been sweeping from Mongolia and China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to northeastern China from Wednesday night through Thursday. The dust reached Beijing during the early morning hours of Thursday and held a grip on the city through the day. […] More than 400 flights were delayed on Thursday and Thursday night at the Capital International Airport, according to FlightAware.

On 3 May 2017, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured an image of several large plumes of dust streaming east from the Gobi Desert. TAir quality in several large cities in northern China deteriorated rapidly after the dust arrived. In Beijing, air quality sensors at the U.S. embassy in Beijing saw the air quality index (AQI) rise from 95 (moderate) at 3:00 a.m. on May 4 to 503 (beyond hazardous) just three hours later. At noon on May 4, the AQI level in Beijing rose as high as 621. AQI values of 0 to 50 are considered healthy. Values between 300 and 500 are considered hazardous. Photo: Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response

The dust worsened the air quality in the city with the United States Department of State Air Quality Monitoring Program reporting the air quality index peaking at 621. Values over 300 are considered hazardous. […] Beijing experienced its hottest April day last Saturday, 29 April 2017, when temperatures soared to 33.5 C (92.3 F). [more]

Choking dust storm engulfs Beijing, threatens visibility through Friday