Fig. 1

Airborne bacterial composition during a dust event. A Distribution of cultivable airborne bacterial concentration at different particle sizes before, during, and the day after the extreme dust event. B Proportions of cultivable airborne bacterial concentration at different particle sizes before, during, and the day after the extreme dust event. C Proportions of cultivable airborne antibiotic-resistant bacteria at different particle sizes before and the day after the extreme dust event. (The Roman numerals I to VI represent the different stages of the six-stage sampler.) D Representative photographs before, during, and the day after an extreme dust event of Beijing’s urban area (taken at the same spot). E Composition of cultivable airborne bacteria at genus level. The inner and outer rings represent before and the day after the extreme dust event, respectively