Strong wind, sandstorms and concentrated dust are battering northern China – causing travel chaos and damaging property.

A 100-metre-high wall of sand rolled into Shandan County in Zhangye City at noon on Monday, engulfing the residential area and reducing visibility down to 10m.

Extraordinary footage showed the sandstorm towering above northern Gansu Province.

The country’s top meteorological authority has issued a yellow weather warning in more than 10 provinces, cautioning this could be China’s most severe sandstorm so far this year.

China has a four-tier, colour-coded weather warning system with red representing the most severe weather, followed by orange, yellow, and blue.

Jiayuguan City was also victim to thick dust and cooling temperatures, dropping to -2C (28.4F).

The local sanitation department responded by dispatching fog cannons and water sprinklers to reduce dust to minimise air pollution.

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was also hit by strong winds and dust, reducing visibility down to less than 50m in some areas.

Strong winds hit Aksu City at around noon on Monday, carrying sand and dust into the air.

The weather prompted the local traffic police department to activate a severe weather response, urging drivers to take extra care.

Read more from China:
Putin and Xi hold talks in the Kremlin
Analysis: West is unconvinced on China’s peacemaker role

Hejing County in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture was also enveloped – with less than 100m visibility due to the weather.

The National Meteorological Center has warned the weather will continue to be sandy and dusty into Wednesday in the southern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, as well as in the northeastern part of China including Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Heibei, Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Liaoning and Jilin.

In 2021, China saw its biggest sandstorm in more than a decade with the skies of Beijing turning orange.

The city’s 21.7 million residents were told to stay indoors as air quality indexes recorded a “hazardous” rating.