Sandstorm Hits Beijing

KEAN:

A sandstorm has enveloped Beijing today. It is reducing visibility and forcing residents to wear masks to prevent breathing in the dust. 
Spring sandstorms turn Beijing's skies yellow, orange and red. They have ignited fresh concerns over China's man-made ecological imbalance. The city's notorious pollution and environmental hazards are drawing international attention especially in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic games.
Addressing the pollution is most difficult in the countryside, where two thirds of China's 1.3 billion people seem to have no choice but to ravage the land.

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• sandstorm
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• Beijing
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[JKLMaxim]

The desert's march is claiming a million acres of land every year, and soon 40 per cent of China could be lost to the creeping sands brought in by worsening sandstorms. China suffers from a shortage of 30 billion cubic metres of water for irrigation every year. And while China has more than 20 per cent of the world's population, it has only 7 per cent of its arable land, precious farmland that the desert is slowly but surely eating its way into.