May 17, 2022 - Massive Middle East Dust Storm

Dust over Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran
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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

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