Near the end of May 2008, a springtime dust storm lingered over northern China for the second consecutive day, spreading southward over the Beijing region. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite took this picture on May 28, 2008. As in the previous day’s image, dust and clouds swirl over the region, tan dust mixing with the puffy white clouds in the north. This image also shows considerable dust south of the main storm, over Beijing, Bo Hai, and North Korea.
According to a May 28 report from Bloomberg, the dust storm pushed Beijing’s pollution rating to “hazardous.” The heavy air pollution in the capital city raised doubts about the air quality that could be expected for the 2008 Summer Olympics.
NASA images courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Michon Scott.
