File:Dust across Algeria (MODIS).jpg

English: In late April 2023, a large cloud of light tan dust floated in the wind over central and southern Algeria, clouding the skies for several days. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the dust storm on April 28. Located on the northern coast of Africa, Algeria enjoys a strip of pleasant living along the Mediterrean Sea. However, the interior extends southward into the extreme heat and aridity of the Sahara Desert—in fact, more than four-fifths (80 percent) of the country’s land lies within the desert. Whistling wind is also frequent, especially in the unsettled, brief springtime transition into summer as well as in summer itself, when the hot, dry and fierce wind called “sirocco” can sometimes reach hurricane strength (75 mph). The action of even moderate wind on fine desert sands and dust can easily create widespread, thick dust storms, and they are a major natural hazard in Algeria.