2022 has already had its fair share of extraordinary and horrific weather phenomena, such as tornadoes, wildfires, and volcano eruptions, to name just a few of them. Without substantial action to limit the consequences of climate change, these disasters are likely to become more frequent.
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In a viral video ,Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province of China was hit by a large sandstorm on July 20, 2022, casting a shadow over the region's cities and villages.
Winds of 53 km/hr (33 mph) blew up clouds of sand as video showed the storm looming over the horizon before moving into densely populated regions and blocking out the sun. Reports suggests that the sandstorm lasted about four hours in total.
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As it turned out, there were no recorded fatalities from this storm. During the height of the enormous storm, visibility in certain Qinghai province towns dipped to 200 metres, according to a second report from South China Morning Post. Even the Sun was obliterated.
According to AccuWeather, the Qinghai province is usually dry in some areas. A large portion of Qinghai province is a desert, with the north-western part of the province falling into this category. Thunderstorms developing in China's western west midweek likely lifted sand from these dry or desert regions into the air, according to forecasters.
This year, Europe has also seen unusually high temperatures. The dry conditions in Portugal, Spain, and parts of France were exacerbated by the heat wave, which sparked wildfires across the region. On July 13th, temperatures in Leiria, Portugal, rose to 45 degrees Celsius as flames consumed more than 3,000 acres of woodland.
