Flights cancelled as worst sandstorm in a decade covers China’s north

Such storms used to occur regularly in the springtime as sand from western deserts blew eastwards, affecting areas as far as northern Japan

The sandstorm brought a tinted haze to Beijing’s skies and sent air quality indices soaring on Monday (Andy Wong/AP)

Beijing and a wide area of China’s north were enveloped on Monday in the worst sandstorm in a decade, leading hundreds of flights to be cancelled.

Skyscrapers in the center of Beijing appeared to drop from sight amid the dust and sand, while traffic snarled and more than 400 flights out of the capital’s two main airports were cancelled before midday.