MSGID: 1:317/3 6283e2aa   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   May 17, 2022 - Massive Middle East Dust Storm   
      
      Dust over Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran   
       Tweet   
       Share   
      
      A massive dust storm driven by high wind billowed over much of the   
      Middle East on May 16, 2022, turning skies orange, blanketing cars and   
      buildings with dust, and sending thousands to the hospital. The   
      Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s   
      Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the damaging storm on   
      that same day, when a dense cloud of dust covered parts of eastern   
      Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. In this image, the edge of the   
      dust cloud sat along the border with Kuwait, but that country was also   
      engulfed in sand.   
      
      Iraq felt the brunt of the dangerous storm, where at least 4,000 people   
      were sent to the hospital with breathing problems. One report described   
      victims as literally “suffocating” from the aerosolized particles,   
      which clogged airways and burned eyes. Two people died from the storm   
      in northeastern Syria, where winds reached 88 km/h (55 mph) and toppled   
      high-voltage towers. Reduced visibility resulted in the closure of   
      airports in Baghdad, Najaf, and Sulaymaniyah in Iraq as well as Kuwait   
      International Airport. Public schools, universities, and public offices   
      were closed across Iraq. In Kuwait, the final game of the Amiri Cup, a   
      major and hotly-contested football (soccer) tournament, was delayed due   
      to the sandstorm, to ensure the safety of both footballers and fans.   
      
      Dust storms are a major natural hazard across most of the Middle East,   
      including Iraq. In recent years, increasing desertification, intense   
      drought, increasingly high temperatures, and low rainfall—all effects   
      of climate change—are causing increasingly frequent dust storms in the   
      region. This storm is the eight to strike Iraq since early April. In   
      April, an environment ministry official warned that Iraq could face 272   
      days of dust each year within the next twenty years.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 5/16/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (1.7 MB),  500m (4.5 MB),  250m (2.8 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=2022-05-17   
       
   --- up 11 weeks, 1 day, 20 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 129/330 331 153/7715 218/700   
   SEEN-BY: 229/110 111 112 113 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 292/854 298/25   
   SEEN-BY: 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426