A sandstorm blanketed the urban area of Hohhot, capital of north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Tuesday after choking many other localities in the region.

The sandy dust, stirred up by a Mongolian cyclone and accompanied by gales, has turned the sky yellow.

The autonomous regional meteorological bureau said the central and western regions began to suffer from the dust Monday, which reduced the visibility to less than 200 meters.

Shi Shaohong, a meteorologist with the bureau, said the heavy dust intensified Tuesday and is expected to get worse.

The storm will gradually trail off after the Mongolian cyclone moves eastwards on Wednesday, according to Shi.

Many cities and regions in north China suffer from frequent sandstorms in spring. China has been trying very hard to build afforestation belts throughout the north in an effort to tame the dust and improve the environment.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2006)