Massive sandstorm engulfs parts of Qinghai, plunging towns into darkness, China
Image credit: SCMP
A massive sandstorm engulfed parts of northwest China’s Qinghai Province on July 20, 2022, disrupting traffic and plugging towns into darkness.
The worst hit was Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture where the storm lasted nearly 4 hours.
At the storm’s peak, the visibility dropped below 200 m (650 feet).
The video below shows the storm rising ominously on the horizon before it moved into populated areas, blotting out the sunlight as winds recorded at 53km/h (33mph) whipped up clouds of sand.
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.


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