Several plumes of dust billow southwards, off the coasts of Yemen and Oman, over the Gulf of Aden and towards Somalia. They are part of the dust storm that has been raging over the Arabian Peninsula, spreading dust far east to Pakistan and west towards the African continent, over the last few days. Credit: EarthSnapshot

In Dubai, UAE, Iyad El-Baghdadi complains:

@Iyad_elbaghdadi: God there’s dust everywhere, in my eyes, in my nose, on my desk, between my fingers, in my glass, on my keyboard. And I’m sealed indoors.

From Qatar, Hannah laments:

@hshurey: I am so fed up with this dust in Doha. I can barely even remember what fresh air is!

Ahmed Al Hashemi, from Abu Dhabi, UAE, notes:

@ADHashemi: Covered in so much dust I’m gonna need a car wash to get it all off. To make matters worse its really doing a number on my eyes

And Ozair Taher, from neighbouring Dubai, UAE, adds:

@Ozair25: Dust, dust, dust, dust & D.U.S.T “We should all pray for rain seriously!” #Dubai

Rain is also on Wael Al Jaber’s mind. Al Jaber, from the Saudi capital Riyadh writes:

@W_Jaber: That awkward moment when people are talking about rain but all i see is dust #RiyadhWeather

Håkon Gaarder-Larsen, a Norwegian hotelier who lives and works in Riyadh, notes:

@Haakon_G_Larsen: Funny how a week of sandstorms and dust in Riyadh makes me look forward to the polluted air in Cairo next week

@HishamWyne: It’s not a sandstorm. It’s just that the dust bunnies are breeding ferociously. They’re allowed four wives each too.

Meanwhile, in Sanaa, Yemen, schools are closed because of the dust storm. Noon Arabia clarifies:

@NoonArabia: Tomorrow and after will shut down too “@WomanfromYemen: dust storm in #sanaa caused schools to shut down today #yemen”

Written by Amira Al Hussaini