Fires in East and Central Africa

Fires in West and Central Africa

27 September 2004

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Fires were burning across central Africa in September  2004. The widespread nature of the fires and the time of year indicates that these fires are being set intentionally for agricultural purposes. Though not necessarily immediately hazardous, such large-scale burning—and the resulting smoke—can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources. The following images were captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

 Fires Near Lake Malawi, Africa
In southeastern Africa, scores of fires were burning on September 25, 2004, in Mozambique south of Lake Malawi, whose southern tip is at the top center of the image. Active fire detections made by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite are marked in red. The fires created a layer of smoke that darkened the surface of the land beneath it. At upper left in the image, the turquoise-colored body of water is the Cahora Basso Lake, created by a dam on the Zambeze River just inside Mozambique after the river leaves its course along the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Source: Earthobservatory

For background information on theFire Situation in Africa see:

RegionalWildland Fire Networks (AfriFireNet) and

IFFN Country Reports on CentralAfrican countries

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