Fires in Southeast Asia

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Thursday, 1 February 2007, 07:13 CST Download full size image

Numerous fires were scattered across Southeast Asia on January 21, 2007, when the MODIS on NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and captured this image. Places where MODIS detected actively burning fires are outlined in red.

The widespread nature of the fires, their location, and the time of year (the dry season) suggests that many of the fires are related to agriculture. Although such fires are not necessarily immediately hazardous, they can have a strong impact on climate, air quality and public health, and natural resources.

The countries shown in this image are, from left to right, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Black lines show the country borders. You can see the Miecong River traveling North-South through the center of the image. Also visible near the left side of the image is the Tonlé Sap, which is a combined lake and river system of huge importance to Cambodia. It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia.

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