Fires across central South America

Fires are spread across the plains at the foothills of South America’s Andes Mountains (left edge) on August 20, 2003. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from the Aqua satellite shows hundreds, possibly thousands of "hot spots" spread across (clockwise from top left) Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina. In eastern Paraguay, a huge plume of smoke spreads out like a fan over the terrain, while more diffuse smoke stretches over the bottom left of the scene.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

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

Source:

Aqua > MODIS

Topic:

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires

Collections:

MODIS Rapid Response

Visible Earth