Biases in dust modeling may result in biases in simulating energy budget and regional climate. Output of seven Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models is examined. Seasonal cycle and spatial pattern of dust optical depth (DOD) in very dusty regions are largely captured by multi-model mean. But observed connections between DOD and local controlling factors such as bareness are not well represented. Future projections by CMIP5 models and a regression model are also analyzed.