Images
February 19, 2011 - Fires in Indochina
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Hundreds of active fires blazing across the hills and valleys marked the onset of the dry season in Indochina on February 6, 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite passed over the region and captured this true-color image on that same day. Places where the instrument detected hot spots, in this case indicating fires, are marked in red.
In this image fires cluster most heavily on the western edge of Cambodia and are scattered heavily across Thailand, especially in the tan colored valleys. Fires also are found in southern China (at the top of the image), Burma (Myanmar), Laos and Vietnam. Smoke veils the Andaman Sea and a thick haze obscures most of the land of the Chao Phraya valley.
Considering the time of year and the widespread nature of the fires, it is likely that most of these fires are agricultural in nature. In much of this region, jhum cultivation has been practiced for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. Jhum, also called “shifting cultivation” or “slash-and-burn agriculture”, involves clearing a patch of forest – primarily by fire, then cultivating the land for two to three years. It is then abandoned for 10-20 years to allow for fertility to return.
At one time, only small areas of forest were cleared each jhum cycle, and the forest would have time to regrow in the fallow years. However, with increasing populations, the pressure for food increases, and this leads to the clearing of larger forest sections and shorter resting period. This has resulted in soil degradation, decreases in yield, lower returns and reduction in green forest cover, as well as contributing to air pollution by the increasing number of fires. Although governments have begun to attempt to regulate agricultural burning, such practices are culturally important and not easy to change.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/6/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Hundreds of active fires blazing across the hills and valleys marked the onset of the dry season in Indochina on February 6, 2011. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite passed over the region and captured this true-color image on that same day. Places where the instrument detected hot spots, in this case indicating fires, are marked in red.
In this image fires cluster most heavily on the western edge of Cambodia and are scattered heavily across Thailand, especially in the tan colored valleys. Fires also are found in southern China (at the top of the image), Burma (Myanmar), Laos and Vietnam. Smoke veils the Andaman Sea and a thick haze obscures most of the land of the Chao Phraya valley.
Considering the time of year and the widespread nature of the fires, it is likely that most of these fires are agricultural in nature. In much of this region, jhum cultivation has been practiced for hundreds, possibly thousands of years. Jhum, also called “shifting cultivation” or “slash-and-burn agriculture”, involves clearing a patch of forest – primarily by fire, then cultivating the land for two to three years. It is then abandoned for 10-20 years to allow for fertility to return.
At one time, only small areas of forest were cleared each jhum cycle, and the forest would have time to regrow in the fallow years. However, with increasing populations, the pressure for food increases, and this leads to the clearing of larger forest sections and shorter resting period. This has resulted in soil degradation, decreases in yield, lower returns and reduction in green forest cover, as well as contributing to air pollution by the increasing number of fires. Although governments have begun to attempt to regulate agricultural burning, such practices are culturally important and not easy to change.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 2/6/2011
Resolutions:
1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
