Fire in Western Australia
Fire in Western Australia
31 Dezember 2010
Scene from 31 December: fire activity compared to scne below is calming down.
Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
Scene from 29 December: More active fire with significant smoke plume.
While floods soaked Queensland, Western Australia sizzled in late December 2010. Temperatures rose to more than 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas, and hot, dry conditions likely set the stage for this wildfire that broke out along the coast west of Pemberton.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on December 29 (below) and 31 (above), 2010. Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected the unusually high surface temperatures associated with fire. Smoke plumes extend both north and south, suggesting that winds shifted direction after the fire started.
The Australian Associated Press reported that high temperatures plagued Western Australia over the Christmas holiday and continued for days afterward, prompting authorities to enact fire bans in some areas. The region around Perth (just north of the area pictured here) was especially hard-hit.
Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
More information from the Media:
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Australia: Catastrophic fire warning in southern states (published by www.abc.net.au, 31 Dezember 2010)
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Australia: Supplies airlifted to stranded holidaymakers (published by www.perthnow.com.au, 31 Dezember 2010)
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Australia: Total fire ban for NYE (published by www.standard.net.au, 31 Dezember 2010)
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Australia: Catastrophic bushfire weather hits SA (published by news.smh.com.au, 30 Dezember 2010)
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Australia: Campers seek refuge from bushfire on the beach (published by www.watoday.com.au, 29 Dezember 2010)
