Sandstorms Come Mostly From Mongoliaxo

China News Digest, 27 January 2002

[CND, 01/27/02] Among the 32 sandstorms Northern China suffered last year, 56 percent came from southern parts of the Republic of Mongolia, according to the State Environmental Protection Administration, the China Daily reported on Friday.

The remainder of the storms originated from Inner Mongolia.

Beijing was hit by 18 sandstorms last year. Experts predict that this year will see at least the same level of severity.

Experts believe that desertification over 30 percent of the land in Mongolia as shown through satellite pictures is to blame for the sandstorms that hit Beijing and some other northern Chinese cities.

The other major source is east Kazakhstan which borders China’s Xinjiang region. (Dong LIU)