You hear the howling wind and the screen slowly fades from black to a close up of a dust-filled road.

The camera pans up.

The whole sky is an eerie orange, and everyone has masks, caps, googles or shades on.

Sounds like a scene from a post apocalyptic movie kan?

Well, it's real and it happened in Beijing.

A major sandstorm hit the Chinese capital on 15 March with experts saying that it was the worst sandstorm to hit the area in a decade.

Check out some pictures from that dust-filled day.

That eerie looking sky.

Mask and goggles on.

Very poor visibility.

Skycrapers hidden from view.

Storm or no storm, life has to go on.

A daunting task or a hopeless effort?





According to a report by BBC, hundreds of flights were cancelled as pollution levels in some districts spiked at 160 times the recommended limit.

The sand is said to have been brought by winds from Mongolia.

The good news is that the situation has already improved tremoundously today.

Hopefully it stays that way.