Spring Dust Clouds

While visiting a customer the other day in their 24th floor offices, I noticed that Tokyo was looking a lot like LA. There was a pale haze hovering over the entire city. This seemed very unusual as Tokyo normally looks quite clear. No one in the meeting seemed to be able to explain what we were seeing.

Later that day or the next day I heard from the news that Japan was being covered by a dust cloud coming from China’s Gobi Desert. The dust blows across Korea, the Japan Sea, and to Japan. It seems that every few years this happens. It hasn’t happened for quite a few years and this year seems to be a particularly dusty year. Some say it is a result of overworking the land like the US did back in the 30’s, resulting in the Dust Bowl Years.

Here’s a picture from the web of the dust rising out of the Gobi Desert in China.