File:Dust storm in Taklimakan Desert, Western China (MODIS 2016-02-21).jpg

English: In northwest China�s Taklimakan Desert, dust storms are frequent and can be massive, particularly in the spring and summer. In those seasons, strong surface winds can loft dust up to heights of 10 km (6.2 miles), allowing dust to spread across the mountains. Winter-time dust storms are not as common, but they do occur. In winter, the prevailing low-altitude winds generally come from the east, where a gap in the surrounding mountains allows the winds to enter the desert basin. Generally these winds keep most dust below 5 km (3.1 mi), which is close to the height of the mountain ranges which ring the basin. With low-altitude winds, dust stays trapped within the basin.

On February 12, 2016, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA�s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of a winter dust storm over the Taklimakan Desert.

The entire desert basin is covered with tan dust which mingles with low cloud (fog). The fog is especially thick as it hugs the steep slopes of the Tian Mountains (north) the Kunlun Mountains (southwest) and the Altun Mountains (south) at the edges of the basin. The dust and fog are confined to low-altitudes below the mountain tops, allowing the snow-laden mountains to be clearly and crisply viewed from space.