1. A couple of items in the news:
• Beijing endured the worst dust storm in five years.
• The storm began on Sunday night with gusting winds that
dumped an estimated 300,000 tons of dust and sand on the
Chinese capital.
• Beijing was considering an emergency plan to seed clouds
with chemicals to induce rain that might clear the air.
• The People's Daily reported that many Beijingers were
"badly frightened by the scene" on Monday morning. They
awoke to discover that a thick yellow layer of sand and dust
was blanketing their rooftops, cars, trees and roads. The
storm affected nearly 200 million people.
WedneTuesdayApril18MondayApril17
Beijing, China Dust Storm April 17-19
Much of the dust was blowing in from the Gobi Desert,
which has steadily expanded as a result of deforestation
and overgrazing in China. But the sandstorm was
aggravated by the mounting pollution from vehicle
emissions, factories and construction sites.
View from hotel room
Tim Dye, Sonoma Technology, Inc.
