NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Fires in Western Africa

Fires are raging in northwestern Africa, and were spotted from space on December 31, 2012 using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument that flies aboard NASA's Aqua Satellite.

Fires appear in red on this image, and were burning in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Cote D'Ivoire, Liberia, and Mali. Some fires were likely set for agricultural purposes to manage crops and pastures, while others may be wildfires. NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner