Dust Storm 2011, Phoenix, Arizona

• 2010: 2010 China drought and dust storms: A sandstorm that started in Mongolia blasted Beijing on March 20, and covered large areas of China in the following days. Several countries in East Asia were affected. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea recorded extremely poor visibility and air quality in an extremely rare level 5 hazardous rating. A number of residents reported health problems, while flights were canceled or delayed due to poor visibility caused by the sandstorm.
• 2011: A major dust storm swept through the southern portion of the Desert Southwest U.S. State of Arizona on Tuesday, July 5, 2011. The dust storm was triggered from thunderstorms to the south of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Dust from the deserts were blown up by high winds. The winds were estimated to be over 60 miles per hour and caused low visibility. The storm went through the city of Phoenix a little after 7:00 p.m. local time. The event was captured and filmed by local media and was seen live on national television channels such as The Weather Channel. Local flights in the area were delayed because of the storm. Power outages were also reported.