Chinese meteorologists claim to have identified the
"routes"?of winds that cause sandstorms in China.
A ten-year research project found that sandstorms affecting
China were closely related to the cold front from Siberia, said
Kang Ling, deputy head of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional
Meteorological Station.
The front swirls through large desert areas, including the Gobi
Desert, often combining with cyclones in Mongolia and bringing
sandstorms to China, said Kang. Kang said the front arrived in
China via three routes.
On the east, the front runs southward through central and
eastern Mongolia, affecting northeast China, central and eastern
Inner Mongolia, Shanxi and Hebei Provinces and areas to the south
of these regions.
The central route goes southward through central and western
Mongolia, affecting central and western Inner Mongolia and eastern
areas of northwest China, central and southern parts of north China
and regions to the south of these areas.
To the west, the front blows southward through western Mongolia
and northeast Kazakhstan, affecting northeastern part of Xinjiang,
the westernmost region of China, north China and areas to the south
of these regions.
Kang said the routes were exactly the same passages through
which sandstorms came to affect China. Sandstorms influencing
Beijing and Tianjin came mainly through the central route, which
runs through a desert area in Inner Mongolia and is the closest
route to Beijing and Tianjin.
"Sandstorms from the central route are the worst for Beijing and
Tianjin areas," Kang said. He said some of the sandstorms
originated in China and others came from abroad.
"Most of the sandstorms influencing Beijing and Tianjin areas
this year came from abroad and mainly through the central route,"
Kang said.
Scientists from the China Meteorological Administration, the
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Regional Meteorological Bureau and
Japanese meteorologists have participated in the research
program.
They used satellite, remote sensing, radar and other high
technologies to study the source regions, routes and their
influences on Beijing.
They suggested that Beijing should establish a shelterbelt
forest, and plant more trees to curb desertification in Inner
Mongolia.
Scientists suggested that China should work with Mongolia to
draft a long-term plan to prevent and curb the occurrence of
sandstorms originating from the desert areas of southern
Mongolia.
To date, China has invested 55.8 billion yuan (US$7 billion) in
projects, including tree planting, designed to prevent and curb
sandstorms in Beijing and Tianjin areas.
(Xinhua News Agency May 13, 2006)