Huge sandstorm hits Taiwan

The dust storms originated from the deserts of Mongolia and had begun sweeping through China's southern Xinjiang region and northern areas last week. They were carried east by prevailing winds and arrived in Taiwan along with a cold front yesterday.

It first hit Ma Tsu at 2 a.m., according to the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). The concentration of particulates in the air reached more than 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter per hour at 7 a.m.

The storm then continued to spread south, leading to hazardous levels of air pollutions in 23 monitoring stations across Taiwan and "very bad" levels of pollution in all other stations. More than 30 stations had recorded particulates concentrations of more than 1,000, compared to under 150 normally.

The sand storm had caused muddy rains in Yilan. There were reports of big increases in business for car wash stations, while runner participating in the Taipei Express Marathon ran in difficult conditions and low visibility. The marathon's organizers said the air pollution was not severe enough to cancel the event according to international standards.

The worst of the sandstorm was during noon in northern Taiwan. The monitoring station at Shilin recorded the highest concentrations of particulates with 1,724, more than 30 times normal levels.

The severity of the storm was further highlighted by the fact that the concentration level was off the charts for many of the EPA's monitoring stations. Because the EPA used different brands of devices, only some of the monitoring equipment could record particulate matter concentration over 1,000, according to the Department of Environmental Monitoring and Information Management.

Before yesterday, the most severe sandstorm in Taiwan happened last April, during which seven stations recorded a particulate concentration of over 1,000.

The air pollution brought by the sandstorm is expected to improve as the cold front weakens today, according to EPA. However, air quality will not get back to normal before noon today at the earliest, as the sandstorm is moving slowly. For southern Taiwan, the air quality is expected to remain to be at the very bad level throughout tomorrow, the EPA said.

The severe pollution brought by the sandstorm caused the number of patients going to emergency rooms yesterday to be 30 percent more than the usual, according to hospital authorities. The number of outpatients is expected to continue to increase significantly as a result of the airborne sand hanging over northern Taiwan. The hospital authorities expect most cases to be of asthma, breathing difficulties, allergies and respiratory infections.

Most of the emergency patients yesterday complained of eye pain after riding scooters while wearing contact lenses, while others were suffering from throat discomfort, said Chang Wen-han, head of the Emergency Medicine Department of Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taipei.

Chaing Chi-hui, head of Taipei Veterans General Hospital's Department of Surgery, said cardiology patients may suffer more as a result of the pollution. People with cardiovascular or respiratory diseases and those with weak immune systems, including young children and elderly, are advised to stay indoors until the sand has dispersed. Chiang suggested that people should wear N95 masks and goggles if going outdoors is unavoidable.

Despite the bad sandstorm, most airports in Taiwan were operating normally yesterday, except for Matsu Nangan Airport. All flights to and from the Matsu airport were cancelled yesterday because of poor visibility.

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