Normally floods are triggered by heavy rains, but the floods along the Indus River were caused by a heat wave followed by monsoon rains. High temperatures across southern Asia rapidly melted mountain snow packs, sending a gush of water down rivers across the region. The result has been widespread flooding along the arc of the Himalaya, the Hindu Kush, and the Pamirs spanning from Nepal to Tajikistan. Many of the flooded rivers empty into the Indus River, leaving it swollen beyond its normal size. Between June 18, 2005, right, and July 10, left, the river has nearly tripled in size. Both of these images were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]). This false color combination highlights the presence of water, which is dark blue. Clouds are light blue and white. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained by the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Floods in Pakistan
Title
Floods in Pakistan
Description
Normally floods are triggered by heavy rains, but the floods along the Indus River were caused by a heat wave followed by monsoon rains. High temperatures across southern Asia rapidly melted mountain snow packs, sending a gush of water down rivers across the region. The result has been widespread flooding along the arc of the Himalaya, the Hindu Kush, and the Pamirs spanning from Nepal to Tajikistan. Many of the flooded rivers empty into the Indus River, leaving it swollen beyond its normal size. Between June 18, 2005, right, and July 10, left, the river has nearly tripled in size. Both of these images were acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]). This false color combination highlights the presence of water, which is dark blue. Clouds are light blue and white. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained by the MODIS Rapid Response team.
Heat Wave in Pakistan
Title
Heat Wave in Pakistan
Description
Six people died and dozens more fell ill as temperatures soared to 47 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit) in central Pakistan on May 21 and 22, 2004. Land temperatures, as measured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ] (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua [ http://aqua.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, reflected the extreme air temperatures. Afternoon land temperatures are often higher than air temperatures because the land retains heat. In this MODIS image, taken on May 21, the land around the Indus River, the bright red line running from north to south through the center of the image, has reached 67 degrees Celsius (153 Fahrenheit). In the top right corner, the temperature gradient in the Himalaya Mountains might correlate with elevation, as the temperature climbs up the color scale from the frigid, snow-capped peaks (blue) to the hot valleys (red). The pattern is more distinct in the high-resolution image, which shows a larger region to the north, including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India, and China at 500 meters per pixel. The image is available in additional resolutions, including MODIS' maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. NASA image courtesy Jacques Descloitres and Ana Pinheiro, MODIS Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at GSFC
Dust Storm in Southwest Asia
Title
Dust Storm in Southwest Asia
Description
On November 14, 2007, a dust storm swept over the borders of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Afghanistan. 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. In this image, the dust is so thick that it completely obscures the landscape below with a beige blur. Only grazing Turkmenistan, the dust storm concentrates the other countries. Along its northern and western boundaries, the storm's shape is indistinct, but in the southeast, near the mountains, the dust storm mimics the mountain valleys it occupies. The distinct shape of the storm in the southeast indicates that the dust particles do not reach high enough into the atmosphere to crest the mountaintops. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team [ http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov ] at NASA GSFC.
Snow in the Hindu Kush
Title
Snow in the Hindu Kush
Description
Winter settled heavily over the Hindu Kush, the mountains that curve through Afghanistan and cut into Pakistan and Tajikistan. Northern Pakistan saw it?s heaviest snowfall in 30 years, the worst of it coming during the first two weeks of February. The heavy snow has devastated all three countries, literally crushing houses and buildings and burying communities in avalanches. Tajikistan alone experienced more than 100 avalanches in populated regions after two meters of snow fell in the mountains. Officials in northern Pakistan report that 270 have died in the snowfall and avalanches, and nearly as many more have been injured. Deaths in Afghanistan have been attributed to extreme cold and related illnesses. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS [ http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov ]) image, acquired on February 16, 2005, by NASA?s Terra [ http://terra.nasa.gov/ ] satellite, shows the extensive snowfall across southwest Asia. The image is in false color to differentiate between cloud and snow, with snow in dark red and clouds in lighter orange. Vegetation is dark green, while bare desert soil is blue-green. Clouds still blanket northern Pakistan where the storm rages on. Tajikistan is entirely covered in snow, and the central mountainous region of Afghanistan is similarly blanketed in snow. The widespread snow has cut off many of the regions in need of aid, particularly in Afghanistan, where food shortages have driven up prices in areas where food was already scarce. NASA image created by Jesse Allen, Earth Observatory, using data obtained from the MODIS Rapid Response team.
King Ata Tag Mountain Range,
…
Title
King Ata Tag Mountain Range, western China as seen by STS-66 Atlantis
Description
The northwest-southeast trending, snow-covered, linear mountain range is the King Ata Tag Mountain, located in extreme western most China. Highest peaks are just over 20,100 feet above sea level. The town or village of Muji is located in the largest river valley that is south of this range of mountains. This area includes part of the country of Tajikistan. The center point of the photo is approximately 39.30 degrees north and 74.30 degrees easth.
Date Taken
1994-11-14
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