July 1, 2022
Satellite images reveal smoke from numerous wildland fires darkening Alaskan skies.
Alaskan summer seasons are normally described as mild and brief. In the early summer season of 2022, the word that stood apart as a lot of descriptive was “smoky.”.
In a smoldering scene that was duplicated several times in June and early July, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NASA-NOAA Suomi NPP satellite observed smoke spreading throughout big portions of Alaska. On July 1, 2022, intense fires were located in the interior and southern areas of the state, however strong southeasterly winds pressed smoke into the far north.
Smoke from one particularly smoky fire northwest of Iliamna Lake (southwest Alaska) obscured exposure on the Seward Peninsula, more than 400 miles (600 kilometers) to the northwest. The influx of smoke resulted in extremely high particulate matter readings (AQI above 700 at times) in the city of Nome, according to University of Alaska Fairbanks climatologist Rick Thoman.
On July 5, 2022, the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center reported 210 active fires in the state. Forty-two were big fires with firefighters working on them, according to the National Interagency Fire. Wildfires are a regular feature of Alaskan summertimes, but this years fires have been intensified by drought, uncommon heat, and a number of extreme lightning storms.
Alaska went beyond 2 million acres (8,000 square kilometers, 3,000 square miles) burned on July 2, 2022, matching the earliest date for the milestone in the past 20 years. On July 5, 2022, the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center reported 210 active fires in the state. Forty-two were large fires with firemens working on them, according to the National Interagency Fire. Wildfires are a routine feature of Alaskan summers, but this years fires have actually been worsened by dry spell, uncommon heat, and several extreme lightning storms. According to Thoman, in early July, the area burned was on track to be amongst the largest on record.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, utilizing VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership.
By NASA Earth Observatory
July 10, 2022
