File:Dust in China and Mongolia (MODIS).jpg

English: Dust blanketed the border between northwestern China and southern Mongolia for more than a week in late May 2023. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the dust storm on May 19.

The dust primarily rises from the Gobi Desert, a large, cold area of sparse grassland and sand that straddles the Mongolia-China border. A long line of camel-colored dust stretches along the southern section of the image. In some areas, the dust along this line is so thick that it is impossible to view the land beneath. In the northeast (upper left), a thinner veil of dust covers the landscape and appears to be moving eastward. The nearby white cloud likely marks an unsettled system that created winds that, at least in part, were responsible for gusty wind that helped drive the dust storm.

The Gobi Desert ranks among the world’s most prolific dust-producing regions. While dust storms can – and do – arise at any time of the year, they are more frequent in springtime.