NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Fires in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite detected dozens of fires burning in northern Cambodia on February 11, 2013. The fires are outlined in red. Grass or cropland is tan in color and thick forests are a deep green.

The agricultural fires seen in mid-January (a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/world/20130114-cambodia.html">January 14 Cambodian fires) are continuing as evidenced in this latest image from the Aqua satellite. Farmers are using fire to return nutrients to the soil and to clear the ground of unwanted plants. While fire helps enhance crops and grasses for pasture, these fires also produce smoke that degrades air quality. In Southeast Asia, the agricultural burning season usually runs through April or May, when the next growing season begins. Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner.