BEIJING: China’s capital and a wide swath of the country’s north were enveloped Monday in the worst sandstorm in a decade, forcing the cancelation of hundreds of flights.
Skyscrapers in the center of Beijing appeared to drop from sight amid the dust and sand. Traffic was snarled and more than 400 flights out of the capital’s two main airports were canceled amid high winds and low visibility.
The National Meteorological Center said Monday’s storm had developed in the Gobi Desert in the Inner Mongolia Region, where schools had been advised to close and bus service added to reduce residents’ exposure to the harsh conditions.
Such storms used to occur regularly in the springtime as sand from western deserts blew eastwards, affecting areas as far as northern Japan.
Massive planting of trees and bushes in fragile areas has reduced the effects on other parts of the country in recent years, but the expansion of cities and industries, along with strip mining and overgrazing, has put constant pressure on the environment throughout China. With its mix of desert and grassy steppe, Inner Mongolia is particularly prone to extreme weather resulting from resource exploitation.
Like COVID-19, which is believed to have spread from bats and other wild animals, sandstorms are a reminder of the need to respect nature, said Zhou Jinfeng, secretary general of the conservation group China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation.
“Together with the pandemic, that’s another big lesson we should take and we should change our behavior,” Zhou said.
The National Meteorological Center forecasted the sand and dust would affect 12 provinces and regions from Xinjiang in the far northwest to Heilongjiang in the northeast and the eastern coastal port city of Tianjin.
“This is the most intense sandstorm weather our country has seen in 10 years, as well as it covering the broadest area,” the center said in a post on its website.
It wasn’t clear if the storm was related to a recent general decline in air quality despite efforts to end Beijing’s choking smog.
The ruling Communist Party has pledged to reduce carbon emissions per unit of economic output by 18% over the next five years. Environmentalists say China needs to do more to reduce dependency on coal that has made it the world’s biggest emitter of climate changing gasses.
Flights canceled during China’s worst sandstorm in a decade
https://arab.news/9ktep
Flights canceled during China’s worst sandstorm in a decade
- Skyscrapers in the center of Beijing appeared to drop from sight amid the dust and sand
- The National Meteorological Center forecasted the sand and dust would affect 12 provinces and regions
Venezuela aims to boost oil output but sanctions stand in the way, VP says
- Sanchez called the recent capture of Nicolas Maduro a “dark day” for the country
DUBAI: Venezuela’s Vice President for Economy Calixto Ortega Sanchez said on Wednesday that his country needed vast foreign investment and sanctions relief to tap its huge oil reserves and restart its ailing economy.
“We know that the reference for Venezuela is that (it is) the country with the biggest oil reserves, and we want to stop being known for this, and we want to be known as one of the countries with the highest production levels,” Sanchez said.
Responding to questions by American journalist Tucker Carlson, Sanchez called the recent capture of Nicolas Maduro a “dark day” for the country but said Venezuela was working to reestablish a relationship with the US, which he described as a “natural partner” for the country.
“The Venezuelan people and authorities have shown that they are ready to peacefully move forward and to build opportunities,” he said during a session at the World Government Summit.
Sanchez, who headed Venezuela’s central bank, said the most pertinent issue facing his country is continued US sanctions.
Despite failing to result in regime change, the sanctions had effectively stifled the economy from growing, he added.
He said the Venezuelan government was now working to reform its laws to allow foreign investment and hoped the US would ease sanctions to aid their work.
“The first decisions that interim President Rodriguez took was to go to the National Assembly and ask for reform to the hydrocarbon law … this law will allow international investors to go to Venezuela with favorable conditions, with legal assurance of their investments,” he added.
“The economy is ready for investment. The economy is ready for the private sector; it is ready to build up a better future for the Venezuelan people.”
Sanchez played down inferences by Carlson that his government had been taken over, insisting that the regime still held authority in the country. He said the country had set up two funds to receive money from oil production that would fund better welfare and social conditions for Venezuelans.
“Allow us to have access to our own assets … we don’t have access to our own money,” he added.
“If you allow us to function like a regular country, Venezuela will show extraordinary improvement and growth.”
