October 13, 2019 - Fires in India and Pakistan

As NASA’s Aqua satellite passed over northwestern India and northeastern Pakistan, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board to acquire a true-color image of a number of fire burning in the region. Given the time of year and the location of the fires, these almost certainly have been set to manage the land for agriculture. This region has two growing seasons—one from May to September and another from November to April. In November, farmers typically sow crops such as wheat and vegetables; but before they do that, farmers often set fire to fields to clear the stubble in them to prepare for planting.

Each red “hot spot” marks an area where the thermal bands on the instrument detected high temperatures. When combined with typical smoke, as in this image, such hot spots are diagnostic for actively burning fire.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 10/10/2019
Resolutions: 1km (212 KB), 500m (759 KB), 250m (2.5 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC