File:Dust and Smoke over the Arabian Sea (MODIS 2021-10-28).jpg

English: Widespread haze spread over the Arabian Sea south of Pakistan and west of India in late October 2021. The light tan shroud appears to be a combination of dust from the deserts of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan as well as smoke from agricultural fires in northwestern India and northeastern Pakistan pouring southward along the green corridor of the Indus River.

Viewing MODIS imagery over the last week shows sheets of dust rising from the Registan-North Pakistan sandy desert region on October 22 then spreading southward. Another pulse of sand rose on October 25 and followed a similar path. Meanwhile, many dozens of fires burning in the rich agricultural lands of Pakistan and India produced thick blankets of smoke each day which spread south and eastward. The southern-most smoke mingled with the sheets of dust to create a haze over the northern Arabian Sea.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the haze created, at least primarily, by dust and smoke on October 26. It is possible that other pollutants, such as industrial haze, are also part of the mix.