Beijing faces renewed threat of sandstorms and pollution.

Thick sandstorms are expected to hit Beijing and several provinces in China, with forecasters issuing a blue weather alert warning for sandstorms. The concentration of fine particulates in the air in Beijing is currently 46.2 times the World Health Organization's annual air quality guideline value, posing respiratory dangers to citizens. The number of sandstorms in China has increased four times higher than in the 1960s due to rising temperatures and lower precipitation in the deserts of north China and neighbouring Mongolia.