After a slow recovery, I have felt stronger the last couple of days. When I looked at the weather forecast I saw that very strong winds were expected in the area bordering on Inner Mongolia where the Great Wall is situated. I will postpone my departure by a day or two until the worst of the bad weather, and it’s effects are over. Many people are plagued by the dust getting into the lungs, and as I will be outside all the time when walking, I will be particularly exposed to this.
The sand from these storms can be carried over vast distances. They are fairly frequent during the Spring when the sun starts heating the air creating strong winds. There are concerns that the storms are getting worse as a result of overgrazing and deforestation.
You can read more on BBC’s website, and there are some good pictures here on a Chinese site called Sina.
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