As the May Day holiday approaches, extreme weather such as sandstorms and strong winds have appeared in many places including Hebei, Henan, Shaanxi, and Shandong, casting a shadow over people’s holiday travel plans.
According to reports from mainland China’s Tencent News, on April 30th, fierce north winds successively hit Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Henan, and Shandong. In places like Zanhuang in Hebei, Xichang in Henan, Pinglu in Shanxi, and Fuxian in Shaanxi, wind speeds reached level 12. In the central and western parts of Henan, winds of over level 10 appeared, with the western mountainous areas of Henan experiencing gusts of up to level 15.
At the same time, scattered strong winds and sudden rain were reported in Hebei and Henan, with squall lines in Shandong, and noticeable sand and mud rains in Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Shandong. Xi’an’s sandstorm even trended on social media.
A video shared by a netizen in Yuncheng, Shanxi, showed dust flying in the air in the afternoon, with the sky turning yellow. The high-rise residential building’s air conditioners were blown down from balconies by strong winds, swaying in the air, and road railings and many parked e-bikes were toppled over.
One netizen said, “I live across the river from Yuncheng. Our street is a mess! Fallen trees, rooftops, solar panels, windows everywhere! Cars are all smashed up!”
Another video shared by a netizen from Hengshui, Hebei, showed the aftermath of the strong winds, with fallen branches and leaves everywhere in a parking lot, and many vehicles hit by flying metal sheets brought by the wind. A comment left on the video section read, “My Mercedes 300 in front got hit worse, you didn’t see. Heartbreaking.”
Netizens described the strong winds in Henan as “super strong.” “Sandstorms, strong winds broke the power lines, still no electricity.” “Henan has never had such strong winds in this season before! What’s going on this year? A once-in-a-century event!”
Many netizens said that in Shandong, from evening onwards, there was a combination of thunderstorms, strong winds, and sandstorms. “At half-past eight while setting up my stall, I saw a gust of wind blowing in, and many food trucks were overturned.” “In Weifang, Shandong, just came back from the market, strong winds and rain, with mud, leaves blowing around, the air choking me with coughs, and a green tree broken along the way back.” “The sound of the strong wind was particularly scary, the roaring noise was so loud, and after the thunderstorm, the rainwater was yellow, the thunder this year was the loudest yet, thought something bad had happened.”
Furthermore, the “Xi’an sandstorm” in Shaanxi also trended online. According to Xi’an’s weather report, on April 30th, Xi’an experienced sandstorm weather with visibility ranging from 1 to 10 kilometers, PM10 levels at around 415 micrograms per cubic meter, classified as severe pollution, with visibility around 7 kilometers.
Videos circulated online show that in Xi’an, the streets were filled with dust, pedestrians could hardly move due to the strong winds, and trees were blown down.
Netizens couldn’t help but lament, “At three o’clock, the sky was still slightly blue, but by four-thirty, it went crazy.” “Suddenly strong winds from 6 to 8 PM, local sandstorms really hit. This sandstorm weather is unprecedented.”