MSGID: 1:317/3 62756260   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   May 6, 2022 - Massive Dust Cloud over Iraq and Saudi Arabia   
      
      Massive Dust Cloud over Iraq and Saudi Arabia   
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      High winds have been sweeping spectacular clouds of dust across parts   
      of the Arabian Peninsula and Middle East since late April 2022. On May   
      5, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer captured an   
      astonishingly large and thick cloud of camel-colored dust blanketing   
      southeastern Iraq and northern Saudi Arabia—a cloud so thick that it   
      completely obscured the land beneath it from view. Although dust covers   
      most of the landscape captured in this image, including parts of Iran   
      and Kuwait, the extremely dense cloud spans an area measuring more than   
      130,000 square kilometers (50,200 square miles), an area larger than   
      the U.S. state of North Carolina.   
      
      According to media reports, the ochre-colored dust dropped visibility,   
      triggered health warnings urging people to stay indoors, and closed   
      airports in Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The fine dust and sand suspended so   
      thickly in the air also sent many people to the hospital in Iraq and   
      was responsible for one death in Baghdad. Reports of the number who   
      sought assistance at hospitals vary, but it is likely more than 1,000   
      people were hospitalized. Most of those hospitalized had pre-existing   
      respiratory illnesses that were worsened by the suspended particulates.   
      
      Weather forecasts for Saudi Arabia warn of continued high winds,   
      rainstorms, and sandstorms through at least May 8. Surface winds on the   
      Red Sea are expected to be northerly to northwesterly with speeds   
      between 25 – 50 km/h (18-30 mph), which is plenty strong enough to   
      create widespread dust storms.   
      
      A report by the United Nation’s Joint Analysis and Policy Unit (JAPU)   
      states that Iraq is considered one of the region’s most vulnerable   
      countries to climate change and it faces a unique set of environmental   
      challenges. Rising environmental degradation and increasing frequency   
      and intensity of extreme weather events, especially Sand and Dust   
      Storms (SDS), take an enormous toll on socio-economic life and human   
      development across the entire region. The report states that it has   
      been recognized that climate change and environmental degradation   
      transcend boundaries and that they can’t be addressed effectively   
      through national level interventions alone, and regional governments   
      have acknowledged that addressing environmental issues, such as SDS, is   
      an opportunity for enhanced cooperation and for making a tangible   
      difference. In Iraq, the Ministry of Environment recorded 122 dust   
      storms and 283 dusty days and sources suggest that within the next ten   
      years, Iraq could witness 300 dust storms per year.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 5/5/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (3 MB),  500m (3 MB),  250m (1.8 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-05-06   
       
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