Dusty weather and serious sandstorms have raged in many parts of northern China since February, especially in recent days. Though China has reinforced its control in recent years, it is still impossible to eliminate sandstorms under the current situation, said Liu Tuo, Director of the National Bureau to Combat Desertification under the State Forestry Administration in an interview on Monday.
Liu said that at present, there are four areas in the world where sandstorms frequently occur, located respectively in Central Asia, North America, Middle Africa and Australia. China is part of the area in Central Asia. Sources of sandstorms that hit China originate not only from desertified lands in northern China, but also from some foreign countries. Particularly this year, the influence of sand sources from outside of China has become greater. The 1.74 million square kilometers of desertified lands and deserts in northern China cannot be reclaimed and eliminated under current technical conditions. Therefore, China cannot eliminate sandstorms due to both internal and external sand sources.
When talking about the causes for the frequent sandy weather, he explained that dusty days this year are more than those in previous years, which, however, are still within the normal range compared to the situations in past years but more serious in intensity.
(Chinanews.cn April 19, 2006)
