China renews blue alert for sandstorm

BEIJING -- China's national observatory renewed a blue alert for sandstorms in parts of the country's northern, eastern and central regions from Monday to Tuesday.

Affected by cold fronts and heavy winds, floating sand and dust are expected to hit some areas in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Gansu, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Shandong, Henan, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Hubei, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning, according to the National Meteorological Center.

Some regions in Inner Mongolia will experience severe sandstorms, the center said.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system for sandstorms with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.