Bureaucratic Red Tape Prevented Red Alert Call for BJ Sandstorm

原创 Charles L. theBeijinger

Despite PM10 levels rising to nearly 2,000 and AQI measurements extending beyond scale, the bad air caused by Wednesday's sandstorm did not result in a red alert for the city because, according to city officials, it didn't qualify as "pollution."

READ: Beijing Experiences First Big Sandstorm of 2018; High Pollution Levels Leave Beijingers Dismayed

As seen on their official Weibo micro-blogging account, the Beijing Environmental Protection Monitoring Center (BEPMC) explained that sandstorms are a naturally-occurring weather phenomenon for which warnings are issued by the meteorological department and not by the emergency command center for air pollution.

Under darkened skies through which visibility was limited to under a kilometer, Beijing was only issued a blue warning for flying sand and a separate orange alert for air pollution that started Sunday and ended last night.

According to its own rules that were expanded in 2016, Beijing is supposed to raise a red alert if local AQI levels exceed 500 for a day, 300 for two days in a row or 200 for four days.

Since establishing a warning system in 2013, Beijing has only issued three red alerts, twice during a week in 2015 and once the following year.

For its part, local authorities did issue warnings for residents to stay inside and avoid exposure to the sandstorm. And, the BEPMC did concede that residents are right to be concerned for their health. "Although dust storms are weather phenomena, they can make a significant impact on the quality of the air," wrote the BEPMC.

Sandstorms naturally occur each spring in China when strong desert winds carry sand to places as far away as Japan and South Korea, impacting local air quality. Last May, a sandstorm that hit Beijing caused local AQI levels to hit 900.

Despite its notorious reputation for its "airpocalypse," Beijing air quality is said to be improving. This past January, city officials claimed that last year's air quality was the best the city has enjoyed in five years.

With flying catkins still to come, Beijing's skies may never become clear this spring, causing some folks to enjoy the great outdoors as they are, sand and all.

Taking wedding photos by the Forbidden City on Wednesday

Making the most of a trip to the Summer Palace during the sandstorm

Think of it like a naturally-occurring sepia filter you can't turn off

"Do I have sand in my teeth?"

Images: BJ News (163.com), Weibo.com