Watch: Severe sandstorm hit Beijing, causes severe air pollution, traffic disruptions

Beijing, Mar 15: A sandstorm blowing in from Inner Mongolia and other parts of northwestern China swept across Beijing on Monday morning, turning the sky yellow, limiting visibility to less than 1,000 meters and disrupting traffic. Also the Beijing's air quality index reached a maximum level of 500, with floating particles known as PM10 reaching 2000 micrograms per cubic metre in some districts.

Pollution in the city was at "hazardous" levels, according to air quality monitoring website Aqicn.

Earler, the China Meteorological Administration had issued a blue alert for sandstorms in parts of the country's northwest and northeast regions on the same day, Xinhua reports.

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