NASA MODIS Image of the Day: March 16, 2012 – Fires in Indochina
The fire season in Indochina was well underway in early spring, 2012 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image as it passed overhead.
Many hundreds of fires are burning along the coast of Myanmar (Burma) and southern India, and another swath of fires burn in eastern Myanmar (Burma) near the border with Thailand.
Bangladesh, which along the western border of the image, is relatively fire-free, but a blue haze spreads over the eastern edge of that country, as well as the Bay of Bengal. The entire region is covered by a thick pall of smoke and haze from the fires, with thick blue-gray plumes blowing towards the east. The widespread nature of the fires suggests that these fires are being set intentionally for agricultural purposes. Though not necessarily immediately hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources.
