Dust drifts over the Arabian Sea

By January 13, 2013, the dust storm that originally arose in northern Iran had spread over the Arabian Sea. A veil of dust extended southward past Oman, and eastward to the coast of India. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this natural-color image on January 13. 

Over most of the area pictured here, the dust was translucent, but off the coast of Oman, a swirl of dust was thick enough to completely hide the water surface below.

Dust plumes initially arose from discrete source points in northern Iran, and the storm likely picked up additional particles as it spread. Over the course of three days, the dust storm traveled roughly 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) to the south-southwest. Over the Arabian Sea, the leading edge of the dust storm spanned about 1,200 kilometers (700 miles).

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument: Aqua - MODIS

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Dust Storm Hits Iran and Pakistan

The dust storm that arose on January 11 spread toward the south and east the next day. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image on January 12.

By the time MODIS captured this scene, the dust storm stretched from the coast of Pakistan to Strait of Hormuz. Thick enough to hide the ground surface below, a river of dust flowed southward past the Dasht-e Lut (Desert of Emptiness) in southeastern Iran. West and south of that desert, mountain ridges poked above the low-lying dust.

Dust storms rank among the leading natural hazards in Iran. Away from the subtropical climate of the Caspian Sea coast, Iran is mostly arid or semiarid, and less than 10 percent of the country’s land is arable.

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE MODIS Rapid Response. Caption by Michon Scott. Instrument: Terra - MODIS

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Haze Shrouds The Himalaya

Haze hugged the southern slopes of the Himalaya in early November 2011. At about 10:45 a.m. on November 3, 2011, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image of haze stretching from Pakistan southeastward to Bangladesh.

Haze is common at this time of year when farmers in northwestern India set fires to clear their fields of excess vegetation. MODIS detects areas of high surface temperatures associated with fires, but fires burn more intensely in the afternoon, and few blazes appear as hotspots (red dots) in this morning scene. The haze may result from additional factors besides agricultural fires, including urban and industrial pollution.

NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott. Instrument: Terra - MODIS

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