Mongolia is main source of severe sandstorms in 2023, says China

Mongolia was the main source of northern China's worst sandstorms in five years from January to April and may have contributed as much as 70 per cent of the dust floating over capital Beijing, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment said on Monday.

BEIJING Northern China is routinely hit by heavy sandstorms in spring, with conditions worsened by deforestation and higher regional temperatures.

It has tried to shield its major cities by planting extensive new forests known as shelterbelts, which are vegetative barriers grown to protect farmlands from sand and wind damage. With some 66 billion trees planted, these shelterbelts are today one of the world's largest artificial forests.

But with the number of sandstorms rising since 2017, the focus northern has shifted to China's neighbour, Mongolia, where a changing climate together with overgrazing and excessive mining has caused things to deteriorate.