November 16, 2008 - Haze Along the Himalaya

Haze Along the Himalaya

Haze lingered along the southern face of the Himalaya in early November 2008, continuing a pattern from the previous month. The MODIS on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image of the region on November 11, 2008. In this image, a likely combination of smoke and dust swirls through northern India, west of Nepal. (China is to the east, in the upper right hand corner of the image.)

The red dots near the upper left corner of the image indicate fires. Fires—sometimes far more numerous than those shown in this image—burned intermittently in this area in early November, but probably cannot account for all of the haze. Urban pollution and dust from neighboring Pakistan might play a role.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 11/11/2008
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC