Iraq dust storm

A sandstorm is captured sweeping across central Iraq on 14 September 2008 in this Envisat image, acquired with its Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) instrument. Sandstorms are common in Iraq's desert terrain, especially during the summer due to a strong northwesterly wind, called the shamal, that blows over the floodplain of Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The teardrop-shaped body of water in the upper right corner is Lake TharThar, which is situated 120 km north of Baghdad between the Tigris (visible east of TharThar) and Euphrates (visible west of TharThar).