Beijing, April 11 : China's National Meteorological Centre on Tuesday morning continued to issue an alert for sandstorms in multiple regions in the next 24 hours. Affected by cold fronts and heavy winds, floating sand and dust will sweep across areas from northwest Xinjiang and Ningxia to Hebei and Beijing in the north, as well as the central provinces of Henan and Hubei, Xinhua news agency quoted the Centre as saying. Some places in Inner Mongolia are also likely to be hit by heavy sandstorms. Last month, China experienced the "most severe" sandstorms of this year. Weather authorities in Beijing had warned people not to go outdoors for exercise and other activities, and have asked drivers to stay vigilant and reduce speed because of low visibility. Beijing is regularly hit with sandstorms in the spring with the smog made worse by rising industrial activities and rapid deforestation throughout northern China. /IANS