BEIJING, April 9 -- China's national observatory on Sunday renewed a blue alert for sandstorms.

Floating sand particles and dust will sweep across parts of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning from 8 p.m. Sunday to 8 p.m. Monday, the National Meteorological Center forecast.

The public have been advised to take precautions against wind and sandstorms, and drivers have been asked to prepare for poor visibility.

China has a four-tier color-coded weather warning system for sandstorms, with red representing the most severe warning, followed by orange, yellow and blue.