June 7, 2011 - Fires in Angola

Fires in Angola

Smoke from fires burning in southwestern Africa were evident on recent NASA satellite imagery from June 2 at 12:40 UTC (1:40 p.m. West African Time).

NASA’s Aqua satellite flew overhead on June 2nd and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument identified fires and the smoke streaming from them in a visible image. The red dots in the image are hotspots associated with unusually high surface temperatures characteristic of fires.

Some of the fires were burning in the Reserva Especial do Milando and the Reserva Natural Integral do Luando, located in the north and north central part of the country. Other fires were likely set for agricultural purposes to manage crops and pastures, which is a common practice in this region.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/2/2011
Resolutions: 1km ( B), 500m ( B), 250m ( B)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: Jeff Schmatlz