(SHEN BOHAN)

A Beijing bicyclist struggles through a sandstorm on March 22.

Two sandstorms ravaged large areas of China on March 20 and 22, affecting 270 million people in 16 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the country.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences estimates the number of sandstorms in China has jumped six-fold in the past 50 years, due to worsening desertification as a result of overgrazing, deforestation, urbanization and drought.