On the afternoon of May 7th, Golmud, Qinghai Province, was suddenly hit by a sandstorm. Observational data indicated that the minimum visibility dropped to less than 300 meters, and the entire city was shrouded in dust.
According to the Qinghai Meteorological Department’s forecast, at 3:50 pm on May 7th, a sandstorm struck Golmud, Qinghai. Monitoring data showed that the minimum visibility in the city center of Golmud was only 248 meters, with the maximum wind speed at the observation station reaching 28 meters per second. The Gobi areas experienced instantaneous wind force equivalent to a level 10 gale, resulting in temporary control measures being implemented on multiple sections of National Highway 215.
Videos captured by local residents depicted a hundred-meter high wall of sand approaching, enveloping the entire city in shades of orange and yellow dust. The local Xihai News reported that the “Kunlun Mountains vanished behind the sand curtain.”
According to a report from “Focus News,” a local resident named Li Sa (pseudonym) expressed that while driving on the highway, when the storm arrived, the road became almost invisible, suddenly turning black and then yellow. Due to the extremely poor visibility, drivers in the video had to turn on their windshield wipers to clear the sand.
Tour guide Heimu from Golmud mentioned that when the sandstorm was still far away, there seemed to be some distance until it reached them, but within seconds, the sky turned yellow, and everything was obscured. The sand wall surged forward like a mountain collapsing.
Heimu stated that such situations have occurred several times this year in Golmud. People around are sharing videos captured on that day, saturating their entire social media circle with yellowish hues.
Additionally, according to a report from “The Beijing News” via “Our Video,” on the 7th, some areas in Gansu also experienced strong winds and severe sandstorms. Due to the continuous strong winds and dust, the Dunhuang Crescent Lake Scenic Area temporarily closed. From 8 pm on the 8th to 9 pm on the 9th, some areas in Gansu Province are still expecting winds of level 4 to 5, accompanied by dusty weather.