Saharan dust over the Strait of Messina

These Copernicus Sentinel-2 images show two different views of the Strait of Messina in Italy, before and after a major dust storm from the Sahara desert passed over the area.

On the left, the image shows the strait on 17 June 2024, while the right image shows the same location just three days later, on 20 June. The suspended particles brought haze and poor air quality.

Copernicus Sentinel-2 comprises a constellation of two polar-orbiting satellites and monitors variability in land surface conditions. With its wide swath of 290 km, along with its short revisit time, Sentinel-2 allows rapid changes to be monitored.