April 29, 2024

Fires Scar the Chilean Landscape – Burned Areas Visible From Space

Image got on February 14, 2023, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite.
The outbreak of fires in early February 2023 has gone away, the burned area stayed visible from area.
Wildland fires raved across southern and main Chile in early February 2023. The blazes eliminated lots, injured thousands, and left many individuals homeless. The smoke that previously put over the Pacific Ocean has actually given that minimized, but the scars on the landscape remain.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite acquired these images before and after the outbreak of fires. The images are false-color, composed from a mix of shortwave infrared and noticeable light (MODIS bands 7-2-1), which makes it simpler to identify the burn scar on the landscape.

The image above, gotten on the early morning of February 2, 2023, reveals a lavish green landscape with only a couple of distinct burn scars, consisting of one along the Biobío River from a fire in December 2022. By February 14, 2023 (top), numerous extra fires had scarred the landscape. As of February 17, 2023, the Biobío province had seen 197,973 hectares burn so far in the 2022-2023 fire season, which began on July 1, according to Chiles National Forest Corporation (CONAF).

Image got prior to the fires, on February 2, 2023, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Terra satellite.
The image above, acquired on the early morning of February 2, 2023, reveals a lavish green landscape with only a few unique burn scars, including one along the Biobío River from a fire in December 2022. By February 14, 2023 (top), many extra fires had actually scarred the landscape.
Fire numbers decreased by February 13, some activity continued in the Biobío, Ñuble, Araucanía, and Maule regions, and a state of emergency situation stated by the Chilean government on February 3 remained in place. Beneficial fire conditions persisted amidst low humidity, heats, and winds.
Since February 17, 2023, the Biobío province had actually seen 197,973 hectares burn so far in the 2022-2023 fire season, which began on July 1, according to Chiles National Forest Corporation (CONAF). Thats about 22 times the five-year average. Ñuble has actually seen 69,478 hectares burn, or about 34 times the five-year average.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Kathryn Hansen, using MODIS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview. Story by Kathryn Hansen.