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Floods in Pakistan
| Title |
Floods in Pakistan |
| Description |
A dual disaster hit Pakistan in the final week of June 2007. On June 23, rare heavy rains and winds swept over much of the country, and three days later, on June 26, Cyclone Yemyin (03B) blew ashore in southern Pakistan. The two storms caused extensive flooding in the country's southwest from the Arabian Sea coast to the border with Afghanistan. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) captured this image of flooding near the Indus River on July 2, 2007. The large image shows additional flooding along the coast. In this type of false-color image, made with infrared and visible light, water is dark blue or black. The lighter blue color in the north is either water-soaked land or mud-laden water. The desert landscape is tan-pink, while cropland near the Indus is green. Clouds are pale blue and white. The lower image, taken on June 23 before the storm moved in, shows normal conditions. The white streak near the right edge of the image is sunlight reflected off the wetlands around the Indus River. In the area shown here, more than 100,000 people were displaced when 800 villages were submerged by floods, said Relief Web. [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Sa.nsf/luFullMap/4B4253F15CBDB7D6C125730F003DC643/$File/rw_FL_pak070705.pdf?OpenElement ] As of July 4, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-74SGLW?OpenDocument&rc=3&emid=FF-2007-000082-PAK ] estimated that approximately 300 lives had been lost throughout Pakistan, and 550,000 people had been displaced. You can download a 250-meter-resolution KMZ file of the flooding [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jul2007/pakistan_tmo_2007183.kmz ] and comparison imagery from June 23, suitable for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/ ] NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Heat Wave in Pakistan
| Title |
Heat Wave in Pakistan |
| Description |
It was not even officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but Pakistan was in the midst of a deadly heat wave when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image on June 10, 2007. The image shows land surface temperatures—how hot the land would feel to the touch. Except for the snow-covered mountain tops in western Pakistan and Afghanistan, land surface temperatures are all on the top end of the scale, as indicated by the prevalence of yellow and warm pink tones in the image. The Indus River is defined by its cooler surface. The vegetation and wetlands surrounding the river are cooler than the sand-and-rock landscape beyond the river valley. Airborne dust [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14300 ] over India masks the hot sands of the Great Indian Desert. The lower image shows land surface temperatures on May 18, 2007, well before the heat wave started. The dark purple regions area the frigid tops of clouds. Compared to May 18, yellow tones cover a much wider area in the June image, indicating how much the land surface had warmed. Land surface temperatures can be warmer or cooler than the air temperatures cited in weather reports. The land takes longer to heat up or cool down than the air. This is why a tile floor is so cold on a chilly winter morning, or why a sandy beach burns your feet on a summer's day. On June 10, air temperatures in parts of Pakistan reached above 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit), and this image indicates that ground temperatures climbed to about 70 degrees Celsius (160 Fahrenheit) in rocky desert regions. By June 13, the heat wave had caused 232 heat-related deaths in Pakistan, said news reports, [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LRON-745C6X?OpenDocument ] with additional deaths in neighboring India. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Heat Wave in Pakistan
| Title |
Heat Wave in Pakistan |
| Description |
It was not even officially summer in the Northern Hemisphere, but Pakistan was in the midst of a deadly heat wave when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured the top image on June 10, 2007. The image shows land surface temperatures—how hot the land would feel to the touch. Except for the snow-covered mountain tops in western Pakistan and Afghanistan, land surface temperatures are all on the top end of the scale, as indicated by the prevalence of yellow and warm pink tones in the image. The Indus River is defined by its cooler surface. The vegetation and wetlands surrounding the river are cooler than the sand-and-rock landscape beyond the river valley. Airborne dust [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14300 ] over India masks the hot sands of the Great Indian Desert. The lower image shows land surface temperatures on May 18, 2007, well before the heat wave started. The dark purple regions area the frigid tops of clouds. Compared to May 18, yellow tones cover a much wider area in the June image, indicating how much the land surface had warmed. Land surface temperatures can be warmer or cooler than the air temperatures cited in weather reports. The land takes longer to heat up or cool down than the air. This is why a tile floor is so cold on a chilly winter morning, or why a sandy beach burns your feet on a summer's day. On June 10, air temperatures in parts of Pakistan reached above 50 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit), and this image indicates that ground temperatures climbed to about 70 degrees Celsius (160 Fahrenheit) in rocky desert regions. By June 13, the heat wave had caused 232 heat-related deaths in Pakistan, said news reports, [ http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LRON-745C6X?OpenDocument ] with additional deaths in neighboring India. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] team. |
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Dust off Iran and Pakistan
| Title |
Dust off Iran and Pakistan |
| Description |
Dust plumes blew off the coasts of Iran and Pakistan and over the Arabian Sea on January 4, 2007. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image the same day. Here, the dust plumes appear as pale beige wisps. One apparent source for the dust can be seen in Pakistan, perhaps 150 kilometers inland from the coast. South of the dust plumes, white clouds dot the sky. Aside from bands of greenish blue—resulting from shallow water and/or sediment—along the coast, the ocean appears dark blue. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Dust off Iran and Pakistan
| Title |
Dust off Iran and Pakistan |
| Description |
Dust plumes blew off the coasts of Iran and Pakistan on October 29, 2007. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, the pale beige plumes fan out over the deep blue Arabian Sea. The plumes appear thickest along the Iran-Pakistan border, and grow thinner to the east. The air over the land surface appears largely clear, implying that these dust plumes have arisen very near the coastline. Isolated clouds hover over the water in the south. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?ArabianSea ] of this region. |
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Dust over the Arabian Sea
| Title |
Dust over the Arabian Sea |
| Description |
On February 10, 2007, a dust plume lingered over the Arabian Sea. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov ] satellite took this picture the same day. This image shows the horseshoe-shaped dust plume hanging over the ocean, just east of the coast of Oman. Although the source of this dust plume is not immediately obvious, the dust likely blew off the coasts of Pakistan and Iran. A close examination of the high-resolution imagery reveals small tendrils of dust linking those coasts and the larger plume. NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Dust Plume over Afghanistan
…
| Title |
Dust Plume over Afghanistan and Pakistan |
| Description |
On July 21, 2007, a dust plume several hundred kilometers across swept through Afghanistan and Pakistan, largely missing neighboring Iran. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture the same day. In this image, the dust appears as a beige swirl over the arid landscape. A break in the plume allows a relatively clear view of the land surface along the border between southern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Otherwise, dust obscures much of the view, although the dust thins somewhat in the southeast. Although dust mostly misses Iran, at least some of the storm appears to originate along the Iran-Afghanistan border. Source points for the storm appear in an area known as the Hamoun wetlands, once an oasis for people and wildlife. By the start of the twenty-first century, a combination of expanded irrigation and severe drought had sucked the region dry, and winds that had once been cooled by wetland water began blowing dust. The pale color of this dust plume is consistent with that of dried wetland soils. For more information on the Hamoun wetlands, see the Earth Observatory feature story From Wetland to Wasteland. [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Study/hamoun/ ] NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center |
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Dust Storm over Afghanistan
| Title |
Dust Storm over Afghanistan |
| Description |
On August 12, 2007, a dust storm formed where the borders of Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan meet. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/ ] flying on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite took this picture the same day. This image shows the pale beige plumes of dust sweeping from the northwest in a counter-clockwise direction. The image also shows some of the source points for the plumes. From source points along the Iran-Afghanistan border, the storm covers part of northern Pakistan. NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC. The Rapid Response Team provides daily images [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/subsets/?Afghanistan/ ] of this region. |
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Dust Storm over India and Pa
…
| Title |
Dust Storm over India and Pakistan |
| Description |
Dust blew over the border between Pakistan and India on June 10, 2007. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov ] satellite captured this image the same day. This picture shows the dust plume, appearing as a tan blur, obscuring the landscape below. The underlying land surface is a sand desert, and it provides ample material for dust storms in the region. According to ABC Online [ http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200706/s1948183.htm ] in Australia, both Pakistan and India suffered through a severe heat wave at the time of this dust storm. The same winds blowing hot air from the east might have also played a role in kicking up this dust. South of the dust plume is the Rann of Kutch, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/shownh.php3?img_id=11750 ] a marshy region along the India-Pakistan border that alternates between wet and dry conditions. The whiteness of the area in this image indicates a salt pan that emerges in the dry phase. You can download a 250-meter-resolution dust storm KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/India.A2007161.0820.250m.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone 03B
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone 03B |
| Description |
Cyclonic storms in the Arabian Sea are rare, but not unheard of. Two tropical cyclones in the space of a month, on the other hand, is quite rare indeed. Unlike its predecessor, Tropical Cyclone Gonu, [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14295 ] Cyclone 03B originated on the opposite side of the Indian Peninsula in the Bay of Bengal. At 11:10 a.m. local time (06:10 UTC) on June 25, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone 03B was reforming in the Arabian Sea south of the Pakistan coast after having crossed over India. The storm system has a discernible spiraling shape, but does not appear well-formed in this image. The storm has no distinct eye, suggesting that it was not particularly well organized. At the time, sustained winds were measured at 60 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] The storm flooded India's Andhra Pradesh province, resulting in 45 deaths, according to Weather Underground. [ http://www.wunderground.com/ ] It also caused flooding and wind damage in Karachi, Pakistan, where the death toll was around 200, according to BBC News. [ http://news.bbc.co.uk/ ] After crossing land, the storm reached the Arabian Sea and began to reform. As of June 26, forecasts were calling for the storm to gain some organization and power, skirt the Pakistan coast, and make landfall again somewhere near the border between Iran and Pakistan. Storm surge from Cyclone 03B was predicted to be moderately high, even though the storm was not strong, since the offshore waters are shallow, similar to the northern Gulf of Mexico. Because these kinds of storms are rare in the area, coastal communities are particularly vulnerable to storm surge damage. You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone 03B KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/ cyc03b_tmo_2007158.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Gonu
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Gonu |
| Description |
A cyclonic storm like Tropical Cyclone Gonu might not seem an odd sight until you consider that Gonu is heading northwest into the Gulf of Oman. The most recent storm of this magnitude to hit the Sultanate of Oman was in 1977, according to AlJazerra.net (English language). [ http://english.aljazeera.net/English/ ] Given the rarity of these storms in the area, many shore facilities were never constructed to deal with the severe winds, strong rains, and high storm surge. At 10:15 a.m. local time (07:15 UTC) on June 6, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone Gonu was grazing the gulf shore of Oman. At this time, the powerful storm had lost considerable power and was considered a Category 1 [ http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml ] cyclone. Sustained winds were measured at 140 kilometers per hour (85 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] The satellite image shows Gonu bringing rain to both Oman and Iran even as the storm center remains offshore in the Gulf of Oman. Hemmed in by hot desert lands and mountains on both sides of the Gulf, Gonu was predicted to continue to move up the Gulf and lose power before making landfall in southeastern Iran. Because such storms are virtually unheard of in this part of the world, authorities treated the storm with considerable caution: government offices in Oman and most private businesses declared a holiday from June 5 until June 9. They recommended people stay in their homes as much as possible and stock basic supplies and emergency needs, according to Middle East Online. [ http://www.middle-east-online.com ] Residents in low-lying coastal areas in southeastern Iran were also being evacuated, while the fishing fleet in neighboring Pakistan was ordered to stay in as waves battered the shores. Gonu, however, did not appear poised to reach the Straits of Hormuz, and oil shipping from the Persian Gulf had not been significantly disrupted as of June 6, according to a number of news services. NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Tropical Cyclone Gonu
| Title |
Tropical Cyclone Gonu |
| Description |
A cyclonic storm like Tropical Cyclone Gonu might not seem an odd sight until you consider that Gonu occurred in the Gulf of Oman and made landfall in Iran, a nation not known for cyclones. The most recent storm of Gonu's magnitude hit the neighboring Sultanate of Oman was in 1977, according to the news service AlJazerra.net [ http://english.aljazeera.net/English/ ] (English language).Given the rarity of these storms in the area, many shore facilities were never constructed to deal with the severe winds, strong rains, and high storm surge. At 12:55 p.m. local time (09:55 UTC) on June 7, 2007, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite captured this image, Tropical Cyclone Gonu was crossing the Gulf of Oman and heading northward towards the Iranian coast. By this time, the powerful storm had lost considerable power and was considered a mere powerful tropical storm. Sustained winds were measured at 60 kilometers per hour (40 miles per hour) according to the University of Hawaii's Tropical Storm Information Center. [ http://www.solar.ifa.hawaii.edu/Tropical/ ] The satellite image shows Gonu bringing rain to both Oman and Iran as it heads north to the Iranian coastline. Because such storms are virtually unheard of in this part of the world, authorities have treated the storm with considerable caution: government offices in Oman and most private businesses declared a holiday from June 5 until June 9. They recommended people stay in their homes as much as possible and stock basic supplies and emergency needs, according to Middle East Online. [ http://www.middle-east-online.com ] Residents in low-lying coastal areas in southeastern Iran were also being evacuated, while the fishing fleet in neighboring Pakistan was ordered to stay in as waves battered the shores. Gonu, however, did not appear poised to reach the Straits of Hormuz, and oil shipping from the Persian Gulf had not been significantly disrupted as of June 6, according to a number of news services. You can download a 250-meter-resolution Cyclone Gonu KMZ file [ http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Archive/Jun2007/gonu_amo_2007158.kmz ] for use with Google Earth. [ http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html ] NASA image by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the MODIS Rapid Response team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at Goddard Space Flight Center. |
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Dust off Iran and Pakistan:
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Dust plumes blew off the coa
…
pakistan_amo_2007302
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-10-29 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
pakistan_amo_2007302 |
|
Dust over the Gulf of Oman a
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Dust plumes blew from Afghan
…
arsea_tmo_2007266
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-09-23 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
arsea_tmo_2007266 |
|
Floods in Pakistan: Natural
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
pakistan_tmo_2007183
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-07-02 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
pakistan_tmo_2007183 |
|
Dust Plume over Afghanistan
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On July 21, 2007, a dust plu
…
afpk_tmo_2007202
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-07-21 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
afpk_tmo_2007202 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Gonu: Natur
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A cyclonic storm like Tropic
…
gonu_amo_2007158
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-07 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
gonu_amo_2007158 |
|
Dust Storm over Afghanistan:
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On August 12, 2007, a dust s
…
afgh_tmo_2007224
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-08-12 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
afgh_tmo_2007224 |
|
Dust off Iran and Pakistan:
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Dust plumes blew off the coa
…
pakistan_amo_2007004
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-01-04 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
pakistan_amo_2007004 |
|
Dust Storm over India and Pa
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Dust blew over the border be
…
india_amo_2007161
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-10 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
india_amo_2007161 |
|
Dust over the Arabian Sea: N
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
On February 10, 2007, a dust
…
arab_tmo_2007041
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-02-10 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
arab_tmo_2007041 |
|
Dust off Iran and Pakistan:
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The dust storm off Iran and
…
pakistan_tmo_2007303
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-10-30 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
pakistan_tmo_2007303 |
|
Tropical Cyclone Gonu: Natur
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
A cyclonic storm like Tropic
…
gonu_tmo_2007157
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-06 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
gonu_tmo_2007157 |
|
Heat Wave in Pakistan: Image
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
* eoimages.gsfc.nasa.gov/ima
…
pakistan_amo_2007161
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-10 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data provided courtesy of the rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/ MODIS Rapid Response team. |
| identifier |
pakistan_amo_2007161 |
|
Wave Clouds over the Arabian
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Like a massive, ethereal bir
…
ge_07758
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-05-08 |
| creator |
NASA -- Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov MODIS Rapid Response System at NASA GSFC. Image interpretation courtesy Belay Demoz, NASA GSFC. |
| identifier |
ge_07758 |
|
Tropical Cyclone 03B: Natura
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
Cyclonic storms in the Arabi
…
cyc03b_tmo_2007176
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2007-06-25 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
cyc03b_tmo_2007176 |
|
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