A resident wears an anti-pollution mask in Beijing on Monday, as the Chinese capital was hit by a sandstorm as heavy winds blew in from northern China. Photo: Cai Yingli/Caixin

A resident stands on a footbridge obscured by the sandstorm. China is experiencing the most severe sandstorm in a decade as 12 provinces across the country were hit, according to the National Meteorological Center. Photo: VCG

Commuters ride escalators at the Xizhimen subway station. Photo: Cai Yingli/Caixin

Vehicles drive through the sandstorm during Beijing’s morning rushing hour. Photo: VCG

Yellow sand and dust shroud the Beijing Exhibition Center. Photo: VCG

Residents walk through an underground tunnel. Photo: Cai Yingli/Caixin

A resident cycles up a street after a sandstorm hit Beijing. Photo: VCG

The sandstorm obscures the Archway of the Imperial College, a popular tourist attraction in Beijing. Photo: VCG

Commuters wearing anti-pollution masks ride electric scooters down a street. Photo: VCG

The sandstorm, which hit the capital Monday morning, has reduced visibility in some areas to less than 1 kilometer. Photo: VCG

Sand and dust shroud high-rise apartment buildings in Beijing. Local authorities issued a yellow alert for the storm, the lowest level of the country’s three-tier warning system. Photo: IC Photo

A cloud of yellow dust covers the sky over the Wangjing area in Beijing. Readings of PM2.5, ultrafine particles that can pass through the lungs into the bloodstream and cause organ damage, rose to deep into hazardous levels in the morning. Photo: VCG