Northern China is being battered by strong wind, sandstorms, and concentrated dust. This can cause travel chaos and damage to property.

At noon Monday, a 100-metre high wall of sand was rolled into Shandan County, Zhangye City. It engulfed the residential area and reduced visibility to 10m.

Extraordinary footage captured the sandstorm rising above northern Gansu Province.

The country’s meteorological chief has issued a yellow warning for more than 10 provinces. This warns that this could be China’s worst sandstorm yet this year.

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China has a four-tiered, colour-coded weather system. Red is the most severe, followed by orange and yellow.

Jiayuguan City also suffered from thick dust and cooling temperatures. It dropped to -2C (28.4F).

Local sanitation officials responded by sending fog cannons, water sprinklers and other equipment to help reduce dust pollution.

Strong winds and dust also affected the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, reducing visibility to 50m in certain areas.

At noon Monday, strong winds whipped through Aksu City, bringing sand and dust to the air.

The local traffic police activated a severe weather response to the weather, reminding drivers to be extra cautious.

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The weather also engulfed Hejing County, Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture – with less visibility than 100 m.

According to the National Meteorological Center, the weather will remain sandy and dusty through Wednesday in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region’s southern portion, as well in the northeastern China, including Qinghai and Gansu.

China experienced its worst sandstorm for more than a decade in 2021. The skies over Beijing turned orange.

Residents of the city, 21.7 million in number, were advised to stay inside as their air quality indexes indicated a “hazardous” rating.