File:Dust Storm in Northern China (MODIS).jpg

English: A strong spring storm brought heavy snows, blizzard conditions, and winds gusting to 60 mph (96.6 km/h) across Mongolia on March 21, 2023. As the winds roared over the Gobi Desert, they picked up massive amounts of dust, creating a massive dust storm both in Mongolia and, by March 22, in northeastern China.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the dust storm on March 22. The immense blanket of dust obscures an area that measures about 190,000 square miles (492 square kilometers) completely from view. That’s larger than the country of Sweden. The dust is entrained in the clouds in some areas, while a thinner veil of dust reaches Russia and the Korean Peninsula.

According to several media reports, the air quality in Beijing, China tumbled to unhealthy levels as the sandstorm rolled in. Concentrations of PM10 aerosols were said to have reached 1,667 micrograms per cubic meter early in the morning, or about 37 times the daily average guideline set by the World Health Organization. PM10 refers to aerosolized particles that measure less than 10 micrometers or less, a size that permits them to be inhaled into the lungs, where they can cause respiratory damage.