Haze hovered over China’s Sichuan Basin in early May 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on May 6, 2011. The dull gray haze contrasts with bright white clouds and lingering snowpack on nearby mountains. Along the Sichuan Basin’s southwestern margin, haze creeps into valleys, coloring them dingy gray.
The haze in the Sichuan Basin likely results from urban and industrial pollution. If the haze results in part from burning organic matter such as coal or wood, it may also include water vapor in addition to particulate matter. Temperature inversions frequently trap pollutants near the ground in this region.
NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.
