China sandstorm

The worst sandstorm to hit northern China in more than a decade struck 12 provinces and the capital, Beijing, on March 14, lasting multiple days.

The sandstorm, which originated in Mongolia, caused hundreds of flight cancellations, and authorities ordered children, the elderly and the ill to remain inside until it was over. Combined with industrial pollution, it raised the air pollution levels to 160 times recommended limits in some areas.

In Mongolia, the sandstorms killed at least nine people.