Thus, given the trend of global climatic change, sandstorms will occur in China with increasing frequency. The really worrying question is, besides all the yellow dust brought by the air currents, what other kind of matter will be deposited by the storms? What kind of physical (suspended particles, etc), chemical (acid rain, nitrogen oxide, etc), and biological (bacteria, fungi, etc) characteristics will it have? How might the sandstorms affect the quality of Taiwan's air, rivers and ecological systems? How will they affect Taiwan's environment, as well as the health of its people?
The government needs to face these questions pro-actively and ensure that they are researched in depth.
Liu Chung-ming is a professor in the department of atmospheric sciences at National Taiwan University. Liou Ming-lone is secretary-general of the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation.
Translated by Ethan Harkness and Scudder Smith
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