File:Massive Dust Event in Afghanistan and Pakistan (MODIS).jpg

English: A massive dust storm was blanketing much of Pakistan and Afghanistan on January 11, 2023 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the event.

The majority of the light-colored dust poured from the Sistan Basin, Afghanistan along the border with Iran. For thousands of years, the Sistan Basin held a large, rich oasis known as the Hamoun Wetlands. The wetlands were fed by the Helmand River, creating a supremely biodiverse ecosystem that sustained agriculture, game, fishing, and more than 225 species of bird—including several endemic, threatened and endangered species.

During the 20th century, rapid population growth and aggressive use of the water of the Helmand River for irrigated farming led to a dramatic shrinking of the Hamoun Wetlands. What was once a lush a 2,000-square-km (800-square-mile) wetland ecosystem teeming with life has been replaced by a mostly lifeless salt pan. The light, silty lake floor is now vulnerable to the intense heat and strong winds often experienced in this region and has become a source of extreme dust storms across the region.

This particular dust storm stretched from the Hamoun Wetlands, across Pakistan, over the Arabian Sea to Gujrat, India. Most of Iran (west side of the image) remained dust-free.