Beijing cleans up after muddy rain falls on city

A large number of drivers lined up in long queues to get their vehicles washed on Friday morning after the city of Beijing was showered by a muddy rain on Thursday afternoon.

A car wash in Chaoyang district that opened 7:30 am on Friday received dozens of cars within just half an hour.

"All of our colleagues are working now," said a car wash staff member surnamed Ji. "Every time after such weather like this muddy rain, we will have a super busy day, so we were prepared."

Wang Yi, a resident in Beijing, said: "I was just caught by the muddy rain yesterday when it started at around 3:30 pm. I was looking at my phone outside and suddenly a spot of mud dropped on my phone screen. I quickly went to my car and drove back home. The sky was covered in yellow mud mixed with rain, wind and thunder. I wonder why there is such weather this year in Beijing."

The Beijing weather authority said the dust was caused by a cyclone from Mongolia and the rain was a usual phenomenon of spring in Beijing.

According to the city's meteorological observatory's Weibo account, the sandstorm left Beijing at 4 pm Friday and will not likely return in the coming days.

The education commission on Thursday suggested the suspension of outdoor activities at kindergartens, schools and institutions during the day.

The Beijing weather authority lifted the blue alert for sand and dust at around 10:30 pm Thursday.

Instead of mud and rain, residents heard the wind roaring the whole day on Friday.

The authority continued its blue alert for wind at 4 pm Friday. The wind is expected to continue until 8 pm Saturday.

The authority reminded the public to take necessary protections and reduce outdoor activities.

Hu Xiao, chief meteorologist at weather.com.cn affiliated with the China Meteorological Administration, said the strong wind in the following two days in Beijing will blow the sand out of the city.

The central meteorological observatory said that floating sand and dust are expected to sweep parts of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, as well as the provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu and Hubei.

It was the second time Beijing has been covered with yellow dust since the beginning of the year.

The capital was struck by a heavy sandstorm on March 15, which was considered the biggest in a decade. It started in the morning with visibility less than 1 kilometer. The city's meteorological department issued a yellow warning for sandstorms, the third-most hazardous level.

Zhang Bihui, a senior meteorologist with the National Meteorological Center, said higher-than-usual temperatures and little rainfall in Mongolia and North China, as well as heavy winds, contributed to the strong sandstorm in March.