Most of northeast China was shrouded in dusty air on Thursday, with people on the street wearing masks and hoods and others hiding under umbrellas to keep the dirt out of their faces.

Residents make their way forward in sandstorm in Changchun, capital of northeast China's Jilin Province, May 12, 2011. The city was dimmed by heavy sandstorm Thursday. [Xinhua]

Strong winds carried the heavy dust to the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin from Mongolia and China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to an expert with Jilin's provincial weather station.

It was the worst dusty weather in Jilin so far this year, he said.

The sky turned yellow and visibility in Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang Province, was reduced to around 1,000 meters, according to the city's weather bureau.

However, the bad weather has so far not affected air and road transportation in those provinces.

Weather bureaus forecast the dusty weather will ease or possibly end Thursday night, as gales and possible rainfall are expected to hit the region.

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