A storm system hit much of the Middle East from January 9 – 13, 2020, bringing torrential rains, flash floods, heavy snow, and avalanches across a wide area. Snow hit the high mountain regions, claiming at least 130 lives in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Conditions were wetter in the lower-lying areas, with rains drenching an expanse from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, into northern Oman and southern Iran.

In southern Iran, heavy rain started on January 9, 2020 led to flash floods across the Hormozgan, Kerman, and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces. The floods have destroyed thousands of houses, displaced hundreds of people, and caused at least three fatalities. According to a news report, more than 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain fell in three days in Sistan-Baluchestan—the amount that typically falls during a full year in that region.

On January 16, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image showing the extent of flooding in southern Iran. This band combination (7,2,1) uses visible and near-infrared light to highlight vegetation and water. Vegetation appears bright green and water electric blue. Deeper water takes on a deeper hue of blue, darkening to nearly black in oceans. Open land and sand appears tan.

A roll-over comparison between this January 16 image and one of the same region on January 8 can be accessed HERE thanks to NASA’s Worldview application.

The NASA Worldview app provides a satellite's perspective of the planet as it looks today and as it has in the past through daily satellite images. Worldview is part of NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System. EOSDIS makes the agency's large repository of data accessible and freely available to the public.

Image Facts

Satellite: Terra

Date Acquired: 1/16/2020

Resolutions: , ,

Bands Used: 7,2,1

Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC