A huge dust and sandstorm has closed down the streets of China's capital of Beijing, bringing the visibility level to practically nil, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

The capital's meteorological service bureau has announced a level 5 warning, the highest, in the city due to pollutants in the air, and has also advised residents to use caution if they leave their homes.

Heavy sandstorms in Beijing are rare, though in other parts of inland China they do occur.

Xinhua reported on Wednesday that some 20 million Chinese were suffering from the longest drought in a century, with drinking water in residential homes being turned on for only a few hours per day.

The hardest hit areas are in China's south and west provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Qinghai. In the province of Yunnan, near the borders of Laos and Vietnam, residents have not seen any precipitation for five months.

Production facilities that use large amounts of water have been closed and experts believe the situation in the region will only become worse as farmers are preparing for spring planting. Some 870,000 head of livestock are also suffering from the lack of drinking water.

MOSCOW, March 20 (RIA Novosti)