[NASA] March of the Harmattan

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3. March of the Harmattan

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Morning

Afternoon

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A light-brown dust plume with a defined front spreads over northwestern Africa in the late morning.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

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By afternoon, the plume has shifted southwest, partly extending over the Atlantic Ocean.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

MorningAfternoon

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A light-brown dust plume with a defined front spreads over northwestern Africa in the late morning.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

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By afternoon, the plume has shifted southwest, partly extending over the Atlantic Ocean.

NASA Earth Observatory / Lauren Dauphin

Morning

Afternoon

March 30, 2026

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Image Details

Saharan dust spreads across northwestern Africa on March 30, 2026, in these images acquired in the morning (left) by the

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 (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s 

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 satellite and in the afternoon (right) by the

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 (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) on

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.

In early spring 2026, a dry, dust-laden wind known as the

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swept across northwestern Africa. Cold temperatures, high winds, and blowing dust prompted

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for several regions of Morocco due to the low visibility and harsh conditions.

Satellites tracked the wall of dust over the course of the day on March 30 as it moved southwest from the Sahara Desert and toward the Atlantic Ocean. The left image, captured by NASA’s Terra satellite, shows the dust at about 10:00 Universal Time (11 a.m. local time in Morocco). The NOAA-21 satellite captured the right image about four hours later.

Meteosat-12, a satellite operated by the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), captured another view of the dust storm. The geostationary weather satellite showed the 

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as it moved closer to the Canary Islands.

According to Spain’s state meteorological agency (AEMET), the harmattan winds blow from the northeast between November and April, often producing dust storms as winds lift dust particles from the Sahara. During the March 30 event

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that conditions were right for a

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, which happens when winds get stronger near the ground with the passing of a cold front. That day, winds converged perpendicular to the High Atlas mountain range before shifting southwest.

Forecasts called for the Saharan dust to

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, triggering what islanders know as

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. The dust episode was expected to worsen air quality and visibility across the islands through April 1. A

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also sent dust toward the Canaries, along with another plume that dispersed widely across Europe.

Researchers using NASA data have

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that the most intense Saharan dust storms occur in the spring, when dust is typically lifted from the sand seas, or ergs, of central North Africa and areas along the Mediterranean coast. In the warmer months, another peak occurs in the central Sahara.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using MODIS and VIIRS data from NASA 

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, 

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, and the 

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 (JPSS). Story by Kathryn Hansen.

Downloads

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March 30, 2026: Terra MODIS

JPEG (2.42 MB)

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March 30, 2026: NOAA-21 VIIRS

JPEG (2.01 MB)

References & Resources

• AEMET Divulga via X (2026, March 31)
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  . Accessed March 31, 2026.
• CIRA Satellite Library (2026, March 30)
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  . Accessed March 31, 2026.
• Fiedler, S. et al. (2015)
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  . Geophysical Research Letters, 42 (21), 9495-9504.
• HESPRESS (2026, March 30)
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  . Accessed March 31, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2026, March 12
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  . Accessed March 31, 2026.
• Saleh, S.A. et al. (2025)
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  . Scientific African, 28 (e02729).

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