The skies over northern India have been filled with a thick, gray layer of smoke and haze for most of December 2002. In this particular scene, acquired on Dec. 23, there appears to be a low-lying cloud (or perhaps ground-level fog, brighter white pixels) blanketing much of the region south of the Himalayas. The particulate pollution over the region may have served as “seeds” (or cloud condensation nucleii) to help form this cloud.
The smaller white patches to the north are the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayan Mountains.
Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team,NASA GSFC
