November 22, 2021 - Dust over Gulf of Oman

Dust over Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea

Strong winds launched several dense streamers of over the Gulf of Oman in mid-November 2021 as well as created a veil of dust that spread between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. Pulses of dust rising from the interior of Iran and Afghanistan have been passing southward over the Gulf since November 1, according to the satellite record. On November 19, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of the on-going event.

Dust storms can happen any time of the year in Afghanistan and Iran. On average, Afghanistan experiences blowing dust one to two days per month in the winter and six days per month at the height of the summer.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 11/19/2021
Resolutions: 1km (363.5 KB), 500m (913.6 KB), 250m (498.8 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC