Images
May 8, 2025 - Burn Scars in Russia
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Devastating early spring wildfires roared through parts of Russia in 2025, scorching vast amounts of forest while snow and ice remained on the landscape. On May 4, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this false-color image of active fire and burn scars in the Republic of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai.
In this type of image, snow and ice are electric blue, vegetation looks green, open water appears dark blue, and smoke takes on a blue-gray tint. Clouds may appear white or, if they are cold and contain ice crystals, may look pale electric blue. Burn scars—areas that have been scorched by fire—can take on a variety of colors, due to factors such as the age of the scar, the completeness of the burn, and the underlying soils. In this case, the orange-red tint of the scars indicates very recent fires while smoke scattered across the region indicates actively burning fire. In the northwest, substantial ice remains atop Lake Baikal.
The largest burn scar is almost entirely located in Zabaykalsky Krai. It covers roughly 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles)—an area larger than the U.S. state of New Jersey. Fire was first detected by Aqua MODIS within that burn scar on March 25. At that time, high temperatures in nearby Chita, the administrative center of the Krai, peaked just above freezing most days, while daily low temperatures were hovering near 12°F (-11°C). The fire continues to expand, as indicated by smoke risking from the southern edge of the burn scar.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 5/4/2025
Resolutions:
1km (1.5 MB), 500m (3.3 MB), 250m (2.3 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Devastating early spring wildfires roared through parts of Russia in 2025, scorching vast amounts of forest while snow and ice remained on the landscape. On May 4, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this false-color image of active fire and burn scars in the Republic of Buryatia and Zabaykalsky Krai.
In this type of image, snow and ice are electric blue, vegetation looks green, open water appears dark blue, and smoke takes on a blue-gray tint. Clouds may appear white or, if they are cold and contain ice crystals, may look pale electric blue. Burn scars—areas that have been scorched by fire—can take on a variety of colors, due to factors such as the age of the scar, the completeness of the burn, and the underlying soils. In this case, the orange-red tint of the scars indicates very recent fires while smoke scattered across the region indicates actively burning fire. In the northwest, substantial ice remains atop Lake Baikal.
The largest burn scar is almost entirely located in Zabaykalsky Krai. It covers roughly 20,000 square kilometers (7,700 square miles)—an area larger than the U.S. state of New Jersey. Fire was first detected by Aqua MODIS within that burn scar on March 25. At that time, high temperatures in nearby Chita, the administrative center of the Krai, peaked just above freezing most days, while daily low temperatures were hovering near 12°F (-11°C). The fire continues to expand, as indicated by smoke risking from the southern edge of the burn scar.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 5/4/2025
Resolutions:
1km (1.5 MB), 500m (3.3 MB), 250m (2.3 MB)
Bands Used: 7,2,1
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
