Gobi Desert Dust Storms

After ten years in Beijing, I thought I knew about sandstorms. Every spring the dust blows off the Mongolian steppe and veils the Chinese capital in a murky shroud. But nothing could prepare me for a raging Gobi Desert sandstorm.

I had flown into Jiayuguan, a dusty outpost on the edge of the desert, and the frontline of China's battle with the Gobi. Each year the desert grows by an area the size of Kent. The problem began centuries ago with destructive farming practices. "Too many people, very bad land," as my driver, Mr Yang, put it. But now scientists believe climate change is making things worse. Precipitation patterns are altering, which kills off vegetation and allows the sand to move in.

We'd been driving for an hour or so across the gebitan - the Chinese name for the desert's barren surface - when it abruptly sprang to life. The sand whipped itself up into chaotic ribbons, waves of which soon buried sections of the road. Within minutes, visibility had dropped to about 20 metres.

Read entire article about Gobi Desert dust storms here.