BEIJING SUFFERED its heaviest sandstorm in years on Wednesday, with PM10 levels at 1,000 micrograms per cubic meter, which is extremely hazardous for health. Comments:

Planting trees can help reduce sandstorms. But it takes time and money to turn a desert into a grassland or a forest, which seems almost a mission impossible now, although it is easy to turn forests and prairies into deserts.

A netizen from Gaotai county, Gansu province, commented on sina.com, April 16