Incredible pictures have shown the moment ferocious red sandstorms currently engulfing China devoured a city in the country 's north west . China 's pollution hit cities are now having to cope with a fresh nuisance after the fourth massive sandstorm struck the north-west of the country this year alone . The images show the city of Golmud , in the country 's north west Qinghai Province , as it succumbs to a sweeping half-hour sandstorm which reduced the visibility to as little as 30 metres , according to The People 's Daily Online . The raging sand storm sweeps in on the city of Golmud in north west China , where 200,000 people live . The sandstorm was the fourth to hit the area this year as authorities struggle to deal with the natural hazards . China 's Meteorlogical Centre issued a blue alert as the sandstorms swept across the north of the country . China 's National Meteorological Centre ( NMC ) has now issued a blue alert for the latest sandstorms to hit the northern regions . The red sand swept across the northern part of the country bringing strong winds and floating sand to the regions of Xinjiang , Inner Mongolia , Gansu , Ningxia and Shaanxi , in what was the fourth sandstorm to hit the area this year . The organisation advised residents to stay indoors and local authorities to brace for the clean-up operation after the sandstorms . China 's four-tier colour-coded weather warning system signifies red as the most severe followed by orange , yellow and blue . Photos of the city of Dunhuang in the north-western province of Gansu show the thick orange haze coating the city 's atmosphere and the lack of people on the streets gave the area an almost alien planet appearance . A local meteorologist said visibility was reduced to less than 50metres in downtown areas . Police spokesman Hui Chuang said : 'The storm forced most people to stay indoors because it was difficult to drive anyway given the low visibility and also hard to breathe without inhaling sand . 'It also forced the closure of the nearby Mogao Grottoes . ' The site is a UNESCO world heritage tourist site renowned for its massive sculptures and frescoes carved in caves along a cliff . Golmud was left covered in a remarkable red haze when the sand cloud blew across the city yesterday . Traffic was brought to a standstill and residents fled for cover when the storm hit . Two local government officers attempt to sweep the sand off the city 's pavements . Cars switched on their lights in order to navigate their way through the billowing sand cloud . A police cruiser makes it way through the traffic amid yesterday 's ferocious sandstorm . The colour-coded weather warning system designated the sandstorm blue in an attempt to forewarn residents . Two men look out across the city where visibility was in some areas reduced to 50m .
Incredible pictures show a city in China devoured by a giant sandstorm . Golmud , in the country 's north west , was yesterday blasted for half-hour . The entire city turned red as it was covered by the brightly-coloured sand . As residents fled the streets , the city took on a Mars-type appearance .