Fires in Mexico and Central America - related image preview

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Fires in Mexico and Central America

Hundreds of fires were burning in southern Mexico and the northern Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua on April 26, 2005, when this hazy image of the region was captured by the Aqua MODIS instrument. Locations where MODIS detected actively burning fires are marked in red; they are heavily concentrated in the Yucatan Peninsula and to the south and east. A thick layer of smoke hovers over the region and spreads northward into the Gulf of Mexico and eastward to the Caribbean Sea. The smoke is so bad that as of April 27, the international airport in Honduras had been closed for six straight days. March to May is the region´s dry season, and these fires are likely a mixture of forest fires and agricultural fires.


Jeff Schmaltz

Published January 5, 2005
Data acquired April 26, 2005

Source:
Aqua > MODIS
Collection:
MODIS Image of the Day