Dust Storm Sweeps Over Mali

Image of the Day for September 10, 2026At a time of year when dust storm activity winds down, a plume of dust blanketed parts of the West African nation and its neighbors. Sep 10, 2026 View more Images of the Day: As summer winds down in West Africa, so does much of the region’s dust activity. Dust storms can still occur, though, as one did in early September 2026, when a plume covered parts of Mali and neighboring countries. The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on September 5, 2026. According to Tianle Yuan, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, storms like this one are often associated with haboobs—powerful dust storms driven by strong convective winds. In the days after this image was acquired, a wider satellite view showed aerosols from the region moving westward and spilling over the Atlantic Ocean. However, a full transatlantic crossing is unlikely. Such crossings are more common from late spring through summer, when the Saharan Air Layer—a dry, dusty mass of air—can carry dust thousands of miles westward from Africa, riding high in the atmosphere. Looking ahead, the developing El Niño could reshape these patterns. For instance, Yuan noted that the phenomenon can affect dust over the Sahel and Mali by shifting the Intertropical Convergence Zone and altering convection patterns, though the influence cuts both ways. Drier conditions can leave more loose sediment available for winds to lift, but less convective activity also means fewer intense storms (haboobs) to kick up large dust plumes in the first place. “The connection can be real,” Yuan said, “but hard to pin down for individual events.” NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen. Downloads September 5, 2026 NASA Earthdata (2021, April 19) Saharan Dust Versus Atlantic Hurricanes. Accessed September 9, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2021, June 8) Africa Sheds Some Dust. Accessed September 9, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2020, January 9) A Dusty Journey. Accessed September 9, 2026. NASA Earth Observatory (2001, May 18) From the Dust Bowl to the Sahel. Accessed September 9, 2026. You may also be interested in: Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet. Keep Exploring Discover More from NASA Earth Science