GFMC: Bush and Forest Fires in Australia
Bush and Forest Fires in Australia
08 November 2002
Latest Satellite Image:
Left: From the tropical savannas inthe north, vegetation in Western Australia (left half of image) and NorthernTerritory (right) transitions to hot, seasonally dry grassland in the middle ofthe image, and finally to desert conditions in the southern part of the image.In dry conditions such as these, the arid vegetation can go rapidly up in flamesdue to lightning or agricultural burns. This true-color ModerateResolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image captured by the Aqua satellite shows numerous large bushfires (red) burning throughout the region onNovember 1, 2002.
Right: Fires continue to burn in NewSouth Wales and Queensland, Australia. This true-color image was captured by theModerate ResolutionImaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on November 6 and 7, 2002. The southernmost fires (red dots) in the imageare burning in the forest north of Sydney, whose metro area makes a tan clearingamid the forested terrain. Farther north, fires are burning in the Darling Downsregion near the border of New South Wales (bottom) and Queensland (north).
Firesobserved by BIRD (Bi-spectral Infrared Detection)
Fragment of a BIRD scene of fires near Sydney, depicted on 08 October 2002.
For a detailed description of the olour code for energyrelease used, please refer to: DLRMicro-Satellite BIRD Mission – Hot Spot Detection Results.
Source: German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrumfür Luft und Raumfahrt -DLR); BIRD website: http://spacesensors.dlr.de/SE/bird/
Fire Weather Forecast for the Pacific Region
Fire Weather Index for the
Pacific Region for tomorrow.
(Source: ECPCFire Weather Index Forecast)
For more information on Australia see the IFFN country notes and have a look at the Australian and New Zealand links.
For background Information see also: Recent Media Highlights on Fire, Policies, and Politics
