Snow in Iraq

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Monday, 21 January 2008, 09:34 CST Download full size image

Baghdad had the novelty of its first snowfall in approximately 100 years on January 11, 2008. Snow still covered the desert when the MODIS flying on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on the morning of January 12, 2008. Though the snow melted as it hit the ground in Baghdad, it lingered in the mountains in the north and east.

The image shows Iran and Iraq in infrared and visible light. This combination helps distinguish between cloud and snow, since the snow is turquoise, and the clouds are white. The desert landscape is predominately tan and brown with a web of brown-green vegetation lining the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The cement-colored city of Baghdad is near the bottom edge of the image. The red dot marks the location of a fire or perhaps a gas flare.

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