Fires and smoke across Central South America

Across Brazil (right), Bolivia (left), and Paraguay (bottom center), the annual burning season is decidedly underway. This image of the region captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on August 15, 2004, shows numerous active fires (marked in red) and thick smoke hanging over the top and left parts of the scene. The intensity of the smoke from many of the fires suggests that forests, and not just previously cleared agricultural land, are burning. The Xingu River watershed is located in the fragment of forest hanging down from the intact portion of the rainforest at upper right.

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Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published August 16, 2004
Data acquired August 15, 2004

Source:

Aqua > MODIS

Collection:

Visible Earth