Dust Storms Moving from Mongolia Can Hit Maritime Territory and Amur Region

Dust storms moving eastward from Mongolia and China can hit the Maritime Territory and the Amur Region (the Russian Far East)

As RIA Novosti was told in the Maritime Hydrometeorological Centre on Tuesday, a vast cyclonic whirlwind is now quickly moving from Mongolia toward the Amur Region of the Russian Federation. Conditions for formation of dust storms have emerged in the southern part of the cyclone.

On Monday dust storms were observed over Mongolia and the north-eastern provinces of China. High temperature and a strong wind are noted in those regions.

Within the next 48 hours the cyclone will move to the east and north-east. The Maritime Territory and the Amur Region may be influenced by air mass with high content of dust and sand, which will cause deterioration of visibility and pollution of the air.

In March and April 2002 the inhabitants of the Maritime Territory observed a phenomenon when the air was grey and the sun was blue. The haze which covered the Maritime Territory was a result of the dust storms which were raging on the territory of Mongolia and China.

The Maritime Territory's largest dust storm occurred on the Prikhankaiskaya plain in 1956. For several days in the middle of April strong winds raised clouds of dust into the air in the western regions of the Territory.