July 22, 2010 - Fires and Smoke Eastern China

Fires and Smoke in Eastern China

Fires dotted the ground while smoke clogged the skies over eastern China in early July 2010. The MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this natural-color image on July 6, 2010. Dozens of fires, marked by red outlines, appear south of Beijing. West of Bo Hai, skies are mostly clear, but smoke grows thick west of Shandong Bandao, and a thick plume of smoke blows seaward over that peninsula. West of the Yellow Sea, some smoke plumes are thick enough to completely hide the land surface below.

Settlements often appear as pale beige dots in a carpet of green in this region, especially south of Beijing. These settlements are surrounded by croplands, suggesting that many, if not most, of the fires in this image are agricultural fires.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 07/06/2010
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC