Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired March 20, 2006 540 x 540 JPEG
Data acquired March 20, 2006 2266 x 1700 2 MB - JPEG
In western Africa, Sierra Leone is deep into its dry season, which typically runs from December through March. When the Aqua satellite passed over the region on March 20, 2006, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) collected this image and detected scores of fires burning across the region. The fires are probably agricultural fires that people are using to prepare farm and grazing land for the upcoming growing season. Although such fires are not necessarily immediately hazardous, they can degrade natural resources if people burn an area too frequently. They can also cause air quality problems.
NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center
Published March 21, 2006 Data acquired March 20, 2006