Suggested Searches

1 min read

Dust Plumes over Syria and Iraq

Instruments:
2008-03-15 00:00:00
March 15, 2008

A dust storm struck the Middle East in mid-March 2008, blowing primarily through Syria and Iraq. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite took this picture on March 15, 2008.

Clear skies over the Syrian coast and source points of the dust storm in the west indicate that the dust is blowing from west to east in this image. The dust plumes form an arc moving in a counter-clockwise direction, barely grazing Jordan, and finally encountering clouds over Iraq.

References & Resources

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

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.

Dust Outbreak Reaches Europe
3 min read

Clouds of dust lofted from the Sahara Desert brought hazy skies and muddy rain to Western Europe.

Article
March of the Harmattan
3 min read

Strong winds in March 2026 carried Saharan dust across northwestern Africa and toward the Canary Islands, reducing visibility and prompting…

Article
Wave of Dust Rolls Through Texas
3 min read

An advancing cold front kicked up a sharp line of sand and other small particles that swept over the high…

Article