Sandstorm hits Beijing on Monday.Photo: CFP

Over 400 flights were cancelled at Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport on Monday morning due to heavy sandstorms, according to a travel service mobile application, Flightmanager.

Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport cancelled respectively 247 and 181 inbound and outbound flights, accounting to 21.65 percent and 21.39 percent of its total number of planned flights as of 9:30 am. 

As the air quality deteriorated quickly and pollution levels soared to the severe level six, with respirable suspended particulates indicator PM10 reportedly reached 8,108 micrograms per cubic meter in urban areas of Beijing. Visibility is 800 meters to 1,000 meters in the morning and is projected to pick up to one to four kilometers in the afternoon, North China Air Traffic Administration Meteorological Center reported.

The sandstorm swept through both the northwest and north China exacerbated by dry weather and the strong cyclone from Mongolia, a climate expert from China Meteorological Administration analyzed at a media conference.

Global Times