Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired August 9, 2005 1300 x 1600 444 KB - JPEG
Data acquired August 9, 2005 2600 x 3200 1 MB Bytes - JPEG
Data acquired August 9, 2005 5200 x 6400 4 MB - JPEG
On August 8, 2005, a cloud of dust struck the city of Baghdad, Iraq. Over 1,000 cases of suffocation and other respiratory ailments were reported at local hospitals. The storm looked a like a thick, orange-brown fog that forced traffic to a standstill and residents to seek shelter; visibility was reduced to about 15 meters (49.2 feet). Dust is lifted into the air by wind currents. If the particles are small enough and the upward current is strong enough, dust can rise thousands of meters (1 meter = 3.28 feet) into the air and travel thousands of kilometers (1 kilometer = 0.62 miles). A summer dust storm in this region is called a Shamal, which comes from the Arabic word for north; typically, dust storms are carried by northerly winds.
Jeff Schmaltz
Published January 5, 2005 Data acquired August 9, 2005