Fires in South Asia
Fires in South Asia
17 March 2009
Forest Fires in Nepal
On 12 March 2009, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite caught a glimpse of a relatively rare event: largescale forest fires in the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal. Places where the sensor detected active fires are outlined in red. The numerous small fires in southern Nepal may not be wildfires, but rather agricultural or other land-management fires.
AQUA
12 March 2009
The image is centered on Nepal, and it shows the towering Himalaya Mountains arcing through the small country. Many national parks and conservation areas are located along the northern border of the country, and the fires appear to be burning in or very near some of them. Five people were killed by the forest fire southwest of Annapurna in early March; according to a news report they were overtaken while in the forest gathering firewood. According to that report, Nepal commonly experiences some small forest fires each spring, which is the end of the dry season there. However, conditions during the fall and winter of 2008 and 2009 were unusually dry, and fires set by poachers to flush game may have gotten out of control.
The large image provided above is at MODIS maximum spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel.
(source: earth observatory)
Fires in Eastern India and Northwest Burma (Myanmar)
Scores of active fires were burning in eastern India and the mountainous provinces of northwest Burma (Myanmar) on 9 March 2009, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite passed overhead and captured this photo-like image. Locations where the sensor detected active fires are outlined in red. Agricultural and other land-maintenance fires are common in the area this time of year (dry season), so many of these fires were probably intentionally started by people. However, as in all parts of the world, intentional fires occasionally get out of control. Some of the larger or smokier fires in this scene could be accidental forest fires.
AQUA
9 March 2009
The large image provided above is at MODIS maximum spatial resolution (level of detail) of 250 meters per pixel.
(source: earth observatory)
See also latest news on the media page:
- Fresh forest fire erupts at six places in Sikkim (published by www.zeenews.com, 16 March 2009)
- From Green To Grey (published by www.tehelka.com, 16 March 2009)
- Forest fire razes in Sikkim (published by www.indopia.in, 15 March 2009)
- Govt asks for measures to check forest fires in Nagaland (published by www.indopia.in, 14 March 2009)
- Gir forest fire: Is Centre’s order motivated? (published by www.dnaindia.com, 13 March 2009)
- Indian military denies landmine explosions cause forest fire along Kashmir control line (published by news.xinhuanet.com, 13 March 2009)
- Wildfires in monastery, forest (published by www.kantipuronline.com, 13 March 2009)
- Explosions trigger forest fire in Poonch (published by www.risingkashmir.com, 12 March 2009)
