The Chinese capital is likely to see about 10 days of sandy weather this spring, close to the annual average but six more than last spring, meteorologists said on Monday.

Guo Wenli of the municipal meteorological observatory said there were two reasons for this outlook. First, there had been less rain in northern China since last winter; second, cyclone activity was high.

Rainfall in Beijing was 3.6 millimeters over the past four months, a drop of 60 percent from the average of the past three decades. However, the temperature was 1 degree Celsius higher than the average, which had been minus 1.7 Celsius, said Guo.

The sand will come mainly from Beijing's neighbors, such as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Hebei Province, which experienced similar weather as Beijing in the winter.

"Warm, dry weather is prone to raise sand, which can be carried to the capital with the frequent windy weather," he said.

Partly because of its location, Beijing frequently gets strong winds and sandy weather in spring. But increased forestation north of Beijing -- especially the Three-North Forest Belt -- and innovative grassland restoration projects have played a big role in reducing sandstorms in Beijing.

Beijing saw three mild sandstorms last spring, the second lowest number in the past 20 years. The best year was 2003, when there were no spring sandstorms at all.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2008)