A force 10 windstorm swept Shizuishan, in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region early Sunday. The sand it whipped through the air made visibility in the city drop dramatically and many residents were forced to stay in their homes. The sandstorm did not lift until late afternoon.

Sandstorms also hit parts of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

This is the 11th time this year that northern China has been hit by such storms.

Having suffered from dust and sandstorms for years, northeast Asian countries have proposed a master plan for sandstorm control and prevention to be in place by the year's end.

Since 2002, the four northeast Asian countries--China, Japan, South Korea and Mongolia--have worked together with four international organizations--the Asian Development Bank (ADB), UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), UN Environment Program and UN Convention to Combat Desertification--to initiate a project to combat dust and sandstorms in northeast Asia.

"Due to the severity of sandstorms in this region, it is impossible for an individual country to handle the problem. Prevention of sandstorms with regional monitoring and early warning must be a cooperative effort," said Mohammad Aslam Khan, a UN scientist who is participating in the ESCAP 60th Session, which is being held in Shanghai from April 22 to 28.

Khan said that ESCAP has sent a group of experts from China and Mongolia to conduct a demonstration program, the findings of which will be submitted as part of the master plan. Organizers hope to acquire financial support from international organizations to implement the plan.

UN statistics show the most severe sandstorm in decades took place in April 2002. It swept across Mongolia and hit 18 provinces in China, the Korean Peninsula and a large area of Japan.

Mongolia had to close its international airport in Ulanbator for three days, and South Korea had to close primary schools and cancel more than 40 flights departing from Kimpo International Airport in Seoul.

In the same year, the four northeast Asian countries and the four international organizations held a conference to discuss solutions to the problem. As a result, the ADB, the Japan Special Fund and the Global Environment Fund together have contributed US$100,000 to conduct sandstorm control work in the region.

Last year, representatives from China, Japan, North and South Korea, and Mongolia met in Beijing. Participants agreed that sandstorms are caused not only by natural forces, but also by excessive exploitation and herding.

(China Daily April 26, 2004)