Dust Storms over China coming from the Northwestern Gobi desert are big enough as to cover the entire eastern part of the country, the Yellow Sea and all the way to both North and South Korea. For centuries China experienced this storms every 30 years or so until 1949. After 1990 the pattern changed about once every year. Since China has become in to one of the most industrialized countries in the world, this type of storms plumes picked toxins in the air which becomes a real hazard to humans everywhere in the storm's path.

According to "earthobservatory.nasa.gov"

---Quote---March often brings an increase in dust storms to East Asia, and 2008 proved no exception. In early March 2008, the characteristic “yellow dust” from the Gobi Desert blew eastward over the Beijing region, the Yellow Sea, and North and South Korea.

A cloud of tan-colored dust south of Beijing, The dust is thick enough to completely obscure the land surface below. The ripple pattern near the western edge of the plume results from midair waves of dust. The bottom image shows the dust plume continuing its eastward journey over the Yellow Sea, toward the Korean Peninsula.

For centuries, China experienced regular dust storms, but the latter half of the twentieth century brought an increase in these storms, likely due to human activities such as overgrazing. From AD 300 to 1949, a dust storm typically struck northwestern China every 31 years. After 1990, the occurrence increased to once a year.

As China industrialized, the dust storms began to pose new hazards as the dust plumes picked up toxins on their way to the sea. The dust storm in early March 2008 prompted South Korean officials to advise precautions for children, the elderly, and people with sensitive respiratory systems.
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http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/imagerecords/8000/8477/asdust_tmo_2008061.jpg
Source(s):
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8477

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