Fires and smoke in Southeast Australia

Fire danger in southeast New South Wales lessened somewhat between Tuesday, Jan. 21, and Wednesday, Jan. 22 (local time) due to changing winds, while just across the territory boundary, the danger in Victoria (south) increased. Residents were being warned that if they weren't prepared to fight the fires, they had better begin to evacuate their homes, as bushfires push through farm and grazing land on the outskirts of several towns and toward communities in northeastern Victoria.

This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image is from the Terra satellite on January 21, 2003, (local time) around 11:00 a.m. The widespread nature of the smoke indicates how strong and variable the winds are.

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Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published January 21, 2003
Data acquired January 20 - 20, 2003

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Topic:

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires

Collections:

MODIS Rapid Response

Visible Earth