Fires in eastern Africa

Thousands of fires burn across east-central Africa on July 8, 2003. Detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite, the fires are spread over thousands of square kilometers in Angola (bottom left), Zambia (bottom center), Democratic Republic of Congo (most of the left half of the image), and Tanzania (most of the right half). In the top right corner is Lake Victoria, and to its southwest is Lake Tanganyika. Fires are a commonly used agricultural tool in Africa, as farmers and ranchers clear farmland and renew pasture.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published July 11, 2003
Data acquired July 8 - 8, 2003

Source:

Aqua > MODIS

Topic:

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires

Collections:

MODIS Rapid Response

Visible Earth