Sahara Dust

Spring is dust season in the Sahara. This image shows a thick plume of dust streaming from Western Sahara and Morocco out over the Canary Islands and Atlantic Ocean. While dust storms can be hazardous at ground level, they play an important role in ecosystems as far away as South America. Minerals carried by the dust, including iron and phosphorus, fertilize tiny ocean plants (called phytoplankton by scientists) in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. These minerals even provide critical nutrients to the Amazon Rainforest.

The impact of Saharan dust on weather is complicated. In some cases, dust particles can help create clouds. In areas where the atmosphere is relatively clean and the particles are the right size, the dust provides a surface for water to condense onto, promoting cloud growth. During hurricane season airborne dust tends to cool the ocean surface off the West African coast, which robs incipient storm systems of the energy they need to strengthen. Dust can also disrupt the temperature profile in the atmosphere. In normal conditions, air is cooler at higher altitudes. Warm, dust-laden air from the desert can invert this pattern, leading to a layer of warm air at altitude. This suppresses convection and inhibits storm growth.

This image was captured by a NOAA weather satellite on the afternoon of April 1, 2026. To check out similar satellite images all over the world, visit NASA Worldview .