In central and western Africa on February 14, 2005, waves of dust billowed outward from interior deserts, blanketing more than a dozen countries with a tan-colored haze that ultimately stretched out over the Atlantic Ocean. Dust is particularly thick in the countries to the south of Lake Chad, including Cameroon and Nigeria. The thickness of the dust in those areas almost completely hides the underlying savanna, giving the image the appearance of a watercolor painting. This image was made by combining observations from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite during two consecutive overpasses of the satellite.
Image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA-GSFC
