File:Haze along the Himalayas (MODIS 2024-04-26).jpg

English: A blue-gray ribbon of haze stretched along the front of the Himalayas in northern India in late April 2024. The haze seeps into the valleys, leaving the air at high elevations crisply clear on April 25, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image. The haze is made up of aerosols, which are small airborne particles and droplets that drift in the air. The aerosols that contribute to poor air quality in this region typically originate from industrial smoke, vehicle emissions, coal burning used for heat, and agricultural biomass burning. Agricultural fires become widespread in the spring as soil is prepared for the new year’s first crops, often becoming widespread by April.