Images
January 25, 2025 - Aerosols in Asia
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A thick plume of haze stretched across Eastern China, the Yellow Sea, and the Korean Peninsula in late January 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image of the swath of aerosol-laden air on January 23.
In this image, gray haze nearly completely obscures parts of the Yellow Sea, South Korea, and coastal Sea of Japan (East Sea) from view. While the haze in this image is impressive in both thickness and extent, it is only a small portion of a much greater plume. The entire swath stretches from the Gobi Desert in China more than 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) to reach western Japan.
The haze is undoubtedly made up of aerosols (small airborne particles) from many sources, including desert dust, industrial pollutants, agricultural fires, automobile exhaust, and more. Haze is common in this region, especially in winter when temperature inversions can keep aerosols trapped close to ground level.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 1/23/2025
Resolutions:
1km (877.3 KB), 500m (2.5 MB), 250m (3.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A thick plume of haze stretched across Eastern China, the Yellow Sea, and the Korean Peninsula in late January 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image of the swath of aerosol-laden air on January 23.
In this image, gray haze nearly completely obscures parts of the Yellow Sea, South Korea, and coastal Sea of Japan (East Sea) from view. While the haze in this image is impressive in both thickness and extent, it is only a small portion of a much greater plume. The entire swath stretches from the Gobi Desert in China more than 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) to reach western Japan.
The haze is undoubtedly made up of aerosols (small airborne particles) from many sources, including desert dust, industrial pollutants, agricultural fires, automobile exhaust, and more. Haze is common in this region, especially in winter when temperature inversions can keep aerosols trapped close to ground level.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 1/23/2025
Resolutions:
1km (877.3 KB), 500m (2.5 MB), 250m (3.7 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
