In weather observations in the People's Republic of China, kosa is included in 'dust weather,' the air state in which the visibility (horizontal one) is within 10 km and the wind is weak is called 'floating dust,' the air state in which the wind is strong and the visibility is in the range of 10 to 1 km is called 'floating sand,' and the air state in which the wind is strong and the visibility is within 1 km is called 'shachenbao.'
中華人民共和国では、気象観測において黄砂は「砂塵天気」に含まれ、視程（水平視程）10km以内で風が弱い場合「浮塵」、風が強く視程10km-1kmの場合「揚沙」、風が強く視程1km以下の場合「沙塵暴」とされている。