Images
December 25, 2014 - Fires in Central Africa
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Hundreds of fires were burning across central Africa on December 15, 2014 as NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard captured this true-color image at 11:30 UTC (2:30 p.m. local time).
Fires cluster most thickly in South Sudan (center of the image), but also burn in surrounding countries. Clockwise, from the north these countries are: Republic of Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic.
The location, widespread nature, and number of fires suggest that these fires were deliberately set to manage land. Farmers often use fire to return nutrients to the soil and to clear the ground of unwanted plants. While fire helps enhance crops and grasses for pasture, the fires also produce smoke that degrades air quality. Places where traditional plots of open land is not available because the vegetation in the area is dense are the places where "slash and burn" agriculture is practiced most often. These regions include parts of Africa, northern South America, and Southeast Asia, where an abundance of grasslands and rainforests are found.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 12/15/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Hundreds of fires were burning across central Africa on December 15, 2014 as NASA’s Aqua satellite passed overhead. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard captured this true-color image at 11:30 UTC (2:30 p.m. local time).
Fires cluster most thickly in South Sudan (center of the image), but also burn in surrounding countries. Clockwise, from the north these countries are: Republic of Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Central African Republic.
The location, widespread nature, and number of fires suggest that these fires were deliberately set to manage land. Farmers often use fire to return nutrients to the soil and to clear the ground of unwanted plants. While fire helps enhance crops and grasses for pasture, the fires also produce smoke that degrades air quality. Places where traditional plots of open land is not available because the vegetation in the area is dense are the places where "slash and burn" agriculture is practiced most often. These regions include parts of Africa, northern South America, and Southeast Asia, where an abundance of grasslands and rainforests are found.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 12/15/2014
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
