File:Dust over East Asia (MODIS).jpg

English: On April 21, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite captured a true-color image of another pulse of dust from the Gobi Desert pouring over East Asia. Dust storms rising from the Gobi Desert are common, especially in the springtime when gusty winds sweep eastward over the desert.

Several severe storms have blanketed China, the Korean Peninsula, and northern China in March and April this year. One massive storm struck on March 26, creating a comma-shaped blanket of tan dust that affected more than 500 million people in China. Another dust storm on April 11 brought widespread air pollution, with PM10 (suspended particulate matter) in Beijing reported at 1,321 micrograms per cubic meter—a level almost 30 times the daily guideline set by the World Health Organization. A review of daily Aqua satellite imagery shows only one relatively dust-free day across the region during the first three weeks of April and four clear-sky days in March.

Underneath the widespread cloud of dust, the blue waters of the Sea of Japan appear to be tinted with green, which is evidence of a phytoplankton bloom. Phytoplankton are microscopic plant-like organisms that live in these waters year-round and, when conditions are favorable, can burst into rapid growth that creates large floating blooms that can easily be seen from space. The minerals in dust can act as potent nutrients to help spur phytoplankton growth.