Dust and fires across West Africa

The West African coastline was partially hidden beneath a thick veil of Saharan dust and perhaps smoke on February 7, 2004, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite captured this image. Numerous fires were detected by the sensor and are marked with red dots. Though many of the fires are likely agriculture fires, intentionally set for land clearing and pasture management, they are not without hazards. They can escape control and cause unintended damage, and they create air pollution.

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Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published February 9, 2004
Data acquired February 7 - 7, 2004

Source:

Aqua > MODIS

Topics:

Atmosphere > Air Quality > Emissions

Atmosphere > Air Quality > Smog

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires