In Israel the period from early May to mid–June is a transition season from the wet winter to the dry summer. At times the wind blows in from the desert, rather than from the Mediterranean Sea (from the west), and at those times the humidity drops drastically and the air is filled with a fine dust that permeates everything.
At that time the green grass turns brown and the wild flowers die (see Isaiah 40:7–8: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever”).
These dry dusty events are called a Hamsin, a sirocco, or a Sharav.
The Hamsin images were taken at 10:30 am on May 11, 2007 and the comparative Normal images were taken at 10:30 am on May 14. All the camera settings and filters were the same!