Fires in Mocambique
Dry-season Fires in Mozambique
18August 2005
The climate of Mozambique is dominated by a wet (November to April) and dry (May-October) monsoon. Fires increase in number, size, and intensity as the dry season progresses. A small number of fires are started naturally, but people start the majority of fires either intentionally for agricultural purposes or accidentally. This Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image of coastal Mozambique on 16 August 2005, shows hundreds of fires (marked in red) that were detected by MODIS as it passed overhead.
AQUA
16August 2005
10:20 hrs UTC
(Image courtesy MODIS)
Click on scene for a 500m resolution
The links provide a 500m resolution for both scenes
Though intentional agricultural fires are not necessarily immediately hazardous, they can have strong negative impacts on human health and natural resources.
(Source: Earth Observatory)
For further information see also:
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The South African Working on Fire Programme
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IFFN Country Reports on Central African countries
- Recent Africa Updates