Two dust storms have been spotted by NASA satellites over Africa in the past week, both blowing off the coast and across the sea.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a natural-color image of dust blowing off the coast of Somalia and over the Gulf of Aden on Aug. 4.
The dust plume appears to arise from about 30 miles of the coast, and is so thick it completely hides the land and ocean beneath.
Somalia and some other east African countries like Kenya and Ethiopia are currently suffering from severe drought and subsequent famine.
The MODIS also observed dust spanning the Red Sea, blowing off Sudan on July 31. The dust formed a thick haze over the entire region, but was not thick enough to obscure the land or water below.
Three days later, the MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite imaged the same spot, showing two dust plumes off the coast of Sudan on Aug. 3. The Northern plume almost extends as far as Saudi Arabia.
Northern Sudan features desert landscapes, with increasing desertification and threat of drought, according to the CIA World Factbook.
