Chiang Mai, Thailand’s second-largest city, lies within a network of narrow valleys in the country’s northern highlands. Though the historic city is known for panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, clear skies have become less common. In recent decades, smoke has increasingly darkened the skies during the dry season, particularly in March and April. A…
At the top of the planet, the cap of sea ice across Arctic waters grows and shrinks with the seasons, usually reaching its annual maximum extent in March. In 2026, this peak occurred on March 15, when the extent reached 14.29 million square kilometers, matching the lowest maximum observed since satellite monitoring began in 1979….
In early spring 2026, a dry, dust-laden wind known as the harmattan swept across northwestern Africa. Cold temperatures, high winds, and blowing dust prompted officials to issue an alert 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…
The town of Alice Springs lies near Australia’s geographic center, in a region often called the “Red Centre” for the rusty hue of its desert landscape. After weeks of heavy rainfall in February and March 2026, however, vast areas of desert and surrounding mountains turned lush and green. The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s Terra satellite…
