A force 10 windstorm swept Shizuishan, in northwest China's Ningxia
Hui Autonomous Region early Sunday. The sand it whipped through
the air made visibility in the city drop dramatically and many
residents were forced to stay in their homes. The sandstorm did not
lift until late afternoon.
Sandstorms also hit parts of north China's Inner
Mongolia Autonomous Region.
This is the 11th time this year that northern China has been hit
by such storms.
Having suffered from dust and sandstorms for years, northeast
Asian countries have proposed a master plan for sandstorm control
and prevention to be in place by the year's end.
Since 2002, the four northeast Asian countries--China, Japan,
South Korea and Mongolia--have worked together with four
international organizations--the Asian Development Bank (ADB), UN
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UN
Environment Program and UN Convention to Combat Desertification--to
initiate a project to combat dust and sandstorms in northeast
Asia.
"Due to the severity of sandstorms in this region, it is
impossible for an individual country to handle the problem.
Prevention of sandstorms with regional monitoring and early warning
must be a cooperative effort," said Mohammad Aslam Khan, a UN
scientist who is participating in the ESCAP 60th Session, which is
being held in Shanghai from April 22 to 28.
Khan said that ESCAP has sent a group of experts from China and
Mongolia to conduct a demonstration program, the findings of which
will be submitted as part of the master plan. Organizers hope to
acquire financial support from international organizations to
implement the plan.
UN statistics show the most severe sandstorm in decades took
place in April 2002. It swept across Mongolia and hit 18 provinces
in China, the Korean Peninsula and a large area of Japan.
Mongolia had to close its international airport in Ulanbator for
three days, and South Korea had to close primary schools and cancel
more than 40 flights departing from Kimpo International Airport in
Seoul.
In the same year, the four northeast Asian countries and the
four international organizations held a conference to discuss
solutions to the problem. As a result, the ADB, the Japan Special
Fund and the Global Environment Fund together have contributed
US$100,000 to conduct sandstorm control work in the region.
Last year, representatives from China, Japan, North and South
Korea, and Mongolia met in Beijing. Participants agreed that
sandstorms are caused not only by natural forces, but also by
excessive exploitation and herding.
(China Daily April 26, 2004)