As the sandstorm drew near, the spectators finally realized how tall it was.
Initially just a yellow line on the horizon, it turned into a yellow band, then a yellow wall. By the ti it was less than a hundred ters away, it had beco a yellow curtain, and eventually, it completely obscured the sky.
The oppressive force was overwhelming.
A hamr made of sand and dust brutally struck the hearts of the spectators.
The exaggerated language in the barrage of comnts also significantly decreased. Joking was one thing, but the imdiate presence of the storm was unavoidably worriso.
With his back to the sandstorm, Bi Fang curled up under the cal, feeling the wind above him growing stronger. The whistling of the air slicing through seed like soone yelling into his ears, causing his eardrums to tremble incessantly as if they might burst.
The sand, relentless and invasive, forced Bi Fang to tightly close his eyes.
Propelled by the fierce winds, these grains of sand struck with astonishing speed. Even through clothing, one could feel their force, as if they were making tiny incisions on the body.
Cals naturally had experience in combating sandstorms. Despite so initial panic, they would actually beco calm when it truly mattered and sit immovably on the ground.
The surrounding sand piled up, moved, then returned, settling into a strange dynamic balance.
On average, a dazzling 182 million tons of sand dust flow out of the west side of the Sahara Desert each year, enough to fill 689,290 truckloads.
This Saharan dust cloud constitutes the largest-scale migration event on Earth—a "mineral migration" more spectacular than most animal migrations that people are familiar with.
The storms of the Sahara Desert lift enormous plus of desert dust thousands of feet above the Earth's surface.
Subsequently, these thousands of kiloters long, cal-colored dust clouds drift westward on trade winds across the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, majestically traversing much of the globe.
In fact, the Saharan dust cloud continually crosses entire continents at all tis. These columns, huge in volu and density, can cross entire oceans, reaching the other side of the Earth.
En route, the dust falls into oceans, rainforests, and human habitations.
The Saharan dust cloud, a roiling belt composed of life-sustaining minerals like iron and phosphorus,
At first glance, the migration of this brown dust, although spanning continents and oceans, is still less thrilling and exciting to onlookers than the majestic animal migrations.
But it fertilizes so of the most biologically diverse oases on the planet, including the lush Amazon rainforest.
Phosphorus is a vital nutrient for plant growth, but rain or floods can cause the loss of phosphorus from the soil of rainforests.
In rainforests like the Amazon, continuous rainfall is a common occurrence.
For this reason, 22,000 tons of Saharan dust deliver sufficient phosphorus to rainforests like the Amazon every year, replacing minerals leached out by rainwashing.
Despite covering his mouth and nose, Bi Fang could still feel dust entering through various unseen crevices and sticking to his respiratory tract, making him want to cough. However, coughing in a sandstorm would lead to inhaling more sand, posing a respiratory hazard, so Bi Fang had no choice but to endure.
A sandstorm could last anywhere from several minutes to several hours. Even if not fatal, it was undeniably excruciating.
Two hours later, the piles of sand around him grew taller. Clearly, it was now the latter phase of the storm, where the wind was not as strong, allowing the accumulation of sand.
Bi Fang began to gently shake his body, shaking off the sand to avoid being buried alive.
Another hour passed, and the winds and sand gradually ceased, allowing the spectators to finally see the sky once again.
In the past three hours, they could barely see anything, enveloped in darkness, with only the howling wind reminding them the live broadcast hadn't ended.
The cara fell silent.
No sound.
No movent.
The audience inevitably began to worry, but their anxiety was short-lived.
The tranquil desert started to shift slightly, the sand gradually sliding until a hand suddenly shot up from the sandy mounds, and larger changes followed, as a huge sandbag bulged and then exploded.
Alpha shook its body, countless particles of fine sand pouring from its fur, forming thin streams.
Bi Fang followed, coughing and finally spitting out several mouthfuls of saliva, cleaning the sand grains from his mouth, feeling a trace of blood in his mouth, uncertain if his nose had been scratched by the sand or sothing. Seeing the cara, he smiled and shrugged,
"Look, I told you it's not a big deal, cough, ptui, ptui."
"You've actually seen it, choosing what kind of shelter isn't that important, it could be a huge rock or inside a car, the key is to squat on the leeward side of the shelter."
"If you know a sandstorm is coming soon, don't spend too much ti looking for shelter, as finding shelter in the desert can be hard. When the sandstorm quickly approaches, you'd better spend your ti preparing to face it."
[Master Fang: Small scene]
[I've been through even more thrilling things (dog's head)]
[Honestly, last ti that submarine volcano caused a tsunami, then surfing it, was absolutely a world's first]
[Sulfuric Sea, hundred-degree steam, tsunami, volcano, really]
[Impressive]
Bi Fang, observing the terrain that looked completely different from before, was montarily stupefied, but quickly snapped back to reality, having experienced this before, and found his bearings again.
"The sandstorm appeared too quickly earlier, and there was a lot we didn't manage to say."
"There are two key points in dealing with a sandstorm, breathing and keeping your center of gravity low."
"The violent wind will lift many large pieces of debris. The lower you are, the lower the chance you'll be hit by these objects. Of course, you should keep your hands over your head to protect your head and neck."
"And the heavier sand particles stay close to the ground, while the smaller particles will float in the air, posing a danger to the respiratory system, specifically those fine sand particles."
Having found the direction, Bi Fang pulled the reins, choosing not to ride but to lead Alpha across the desert.
He didn't always ride the cal, especially after just experiencing danger when the animal might still be unsettled.
"Before getting close to the ground, make sure you know your bearings. When you squat down, understand the direction you are facing, knowing where you need to walk."
"Do not move an inch in a sandstorm. After the sandstorm passes, the surroundings might look completely different, but you still need to know where to go next."
"If you are traveling with others, proceed hand in hand, as a sandstorm can be terrifying and can easily disorient. You wouldn't want any mber of your group to be scared or get lost."
"Also, one more thing to note, although it goes against common sense, sandstorms can provoke unexpected thunder strikes, but there's no way to defend against that, it's purely luck. Of course, the chance of it happening is very low, and the induced thunder strikes usually only cause paralysis and are not deadly."
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