BEIJING (AP) _ Beijing was preparing Tuesday to use artificial rain-making to clear the air after a choking dust storm coated China's capital in yellow grit, prompting a health warning to keep children indoors, state media said.

The storm, reportedly the worst in at least five years, hit Beijing overnight Sunday, turning the sky yellow and forcing residents to dust and hose down cars and buildings.

Hospitals reported a jump in cases of breathing problems, state television said on its noon news.

The government was preparing to chemically seed clouds in an effort to produce rain to clear away the airborne dust, state TV said, citing the Central Meteorological Bureau. It didn't give any other details, and the bureau refused to release information.

Such storms hit Beijing every spring, but newspapers said this week's was the heaviest since at least 2001. The Beijing Daily Messenger said some 300,000 tons of sand and dust was dumped on the city on Monday.

It was "definitely one of the most serious pollution days in Beijing," said Yang Keming, a weather forecaster quoted by the China Daily newspaper. "Small children had better stay at home during such days."

Construction sites, a source of airborne dust most days, were told to cover exposed earth, state television said. It said some companies were fined for failing to obey the order.

Page:

1

2