Dust Storm in Southwest Asia

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An intense dust storm spanned hundreds of kilometers over Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan on March 19, 2012. The dust spread southward over the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, and swept northeastward along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on March 19. Some source points for the storm could be seen in southern Afghanistan, and dust blew from these points in southeast-northeast arcs. Most of the dust plumes in this storm were thick enough to completely hide the land and water surfaces below.

A combination of sand seas and impermanent lakes occur along the borders between Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and the fine sediments from these features often provide material for dust storms. Winds provide the other necessary ingredient, and hot temperatures can increase the likelihood of dust storms by making air near the ground unstable. On March 19, 2012, Pakistan’s Meteorological Department called for dry, windy weather over northern Balochistan Province over the next 24 hours.

References:
Pakistan Meteorological Department. (2012, March 19). Weather Outlook. Accessed March 19, 2012.
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. (2010) Forecasting Dust Storms. (Registration required.) Accessed March 19, 2012.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.

Instrument:
Terra - MODIS - NASA