Fires in Central Africa
December 19, 2011
NASA's Aqua satellite picked up heat signatures from fires in central Africa on December 13 at 12:30 UTC (7:30 a.m. EST) using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard the satellite.
Fires appear in red on this image. There is a large area of light brown smoke over Nigeria from fires there. Other fires were burning in central and north Cameroon, southern Chad, throughout the Central African Republic and the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some fires were likely set for agricultural purposes to manage crops and pastures, while others may be wildfires.
Credits: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Fires appear in red on this image. There is a large area of light brown smoke over Nigeria from fires there. Other fires were burning in central and north Cameroon, southern Chad, throughout the Central African Republic and the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some fires were likely set for agricultural purposes to manage crops and pastures, while others may be wildfires.
Credits: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Topics:
Environment, Disaster Accident, Wildfire, Aqua, Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
