Harbin, China, was recently engulfed by a sudden, huge wall of dust that rapidly erased daylight, The Weather Channel reported.
As the cloud swept through the city, visibility plunged, and people outside rushed to find cover.
What happened?
The Weather Channel said the storm was a haboob-like dust wall powered by strong, gusty winds. It is the type of event often linked to dry, desert-adjacent areas.
On June 1, The Weather Channel's trending-video team featured footage of the storm as part of the outlet's severe weather coverage, showing the front sweep over Harbin's skyline, blotting out daylight and sending pedestrians scrambling for shelter.
The outlet also posted a video to its Instagram account:
The clip captures how quickly conditions worsened, with the storm crossing the city in moments.
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Staff writer Renée Straker said, "the extreme winds tore apart tents and roofs and uprooted trees" following severe thunderstorms and temperatures up to 97 degrees Fahrenheit.
Why is this important?
Dust storms pose immediate dangers: They can disrupt travel, sharply reduce visibility for drivers and pedestrians, and fill the air with fine particles that aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions.
Even a short time outside can become a public health risk.
More broadly, worsening extreme weather disasters threaten lives and livelihoods in ways that outlast the storm itself.
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In some places, more intense heat, prolonged dry spells, and unstable weather patterns can raise the likelihood of dangerous dust events, while communities also face higher health costs, transportation shutdowns, property damage, missed work, and broader economic strain.
What are people saying?
Much of the reaction centered on how unreal and cinematic the footage looked.
The Weather Channel described the event as "from an apocalyptic movie" as the massive dust wall eclipsed the sun.
One Instagram user compared it to the movie "Interstellar."
Another wrote: "Wow, that's huge. I've never seen one that big before."
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