Dust storm over the Arabian Sea

Dust plumes stretched southward over the Arabian Sea in late February 2012.  The thickest plume arises just west of the Iran-Pakistan border. Thinner plumes blow southward along the entire coast of Pakistan.

Sandy deserts cover much of southern Pakistan and Iran, and the sand seas of that region often give rise to dust storms. Sandy deserts also cover large parts of Oman, although little of the dust in this image arises from that country. (EarthObservatory)

NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.