File:Dust from the Gobi Desert over the Pacific Ocean (MODIS 2015-03-31).jpg

English: When springtime winds whip across northern China�s Gobi desert, large amounts of dust can be lifted thousands of meters into the air to begin a long journey. At times, dust from the Gobi desert can blow across the Pacific Ocean to reach the western United States. More often, however, dust falls closer to home � in China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan, where it can be both an annoyance and a health risk, especially to anyone with respiratory problems. The first severe dust storm of the spring was reported in Beijing on March 28, 2015. According to the South China Daily Post parts of the capital city had recorded nearly 1,000 micrograms of PM10 (particles 10 micrometers in diameter or less) per cubic meter of air during the height of the storm. That same day, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard NASA�s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of a broad arcing plume of dust blowing over the Pacific Ocean. The eastern-most dust in this image had already passed over Japan, but it appears a finer veil of dust continues to move over Hokkaido.