Africa

Fires in Central and Eastern Africa

4 July 2005

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The following scenes and informations are showing wide spread burning activities in central and eastern Africa on 3 July 2005.

Each year, thousands of fires burn across south-central Africa beginning in May and ending in late August or early September. Between February and March, rainfall begins to shift from the savannas of southern Africa to areas north of the tropical forests in the continent’s interior. By May, agricultural fires are usually widespread across southern Africa savannas, but are months away from reaching their peak, which usually occurs in late August or early September. These are agricultural fires that people use to clear and renew pasture or farmland.
The following images were captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).

AQUA
3 July 2005
12:35 hrs UTC
(Image courtesy MODIS)

AQUA
3 July 2005
12:30 hrs UTC
(Image courtesy MODIS)

  The links provide a 500m resolution for all scenes.
(source: MODIS, all scenes 3 July 2005)

Fires were also burning across East Africa south of Lake Victoria and around Lake Tanganyika on 3 July 2005. 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.

TERRA
3 July 2005
08:05 hrs UTC
(Image courtesy MODIS)

The links provide a 500m resolution for all scenes.
(source: MODIS, all scenes 3 July 2005)

ECPC Fire Weather Forecast
The GFMC displays selected and daily updated Africa Experimental Climate Prediction Center (ECPC)  Fire Weather Forecasts. These examples allow a quicklook and provide daily and weekly total forecasts. For background information refer to the ECPC products description page.

FWI for 4 July 2005  FWI for next week

(Source: ECPC Fire Weather Index Forecast)

For background information on theFire Situation in Africa see:

• Recent Africa Updates

• RegionalWildland Fire Networks (AfriFireNet) and

• IFFN Country Reports on CentralAfrican countries

• The South African Workingon Fire Programme

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