BBC reports on the massive sandstorm that blanketed Beijing today:

By Saturday, the storm had spread over an area of 810,000 sq km (313,000 sq miles) with a population of 250 million, state news agency Xinhua reported.

It was expected to last until Monday, the meteorological agency said in a statement on its website.

Guo Hu, head of Beijing’s meteorological agency, said the storm came from the deserts of Inner Mongolia.