Tokyo Hit by First Sandstorm in Two Years as Asian Dust Worsens

Sandstorms plaguing northern China have spread across the sea, shrouding skies from South Korea to Japan and bringing the first yellow dust to Tokyo since 2021.

Tokyo on April 13.

Photographer: Takaaki Iwabu/Bloomberg

Sandstorm particles have been detected in the northern and western parts of Japan and are expected to be found throughout Thursday, according to a Wednesday statement from the Japan Meteorological Agency. Visibility could be less than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in some places, it said. Particles were detected in Tokyo for the first time in two years, according to local broadcaster TBS, citing the JMA.

Hazy skies over Fukuoka in southern Japan on April 12.

Source: JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Images

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