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   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   December 1, 2022 - Late Season Fires in Central South America   
      
      Fires   
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      On November 29, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite captured a true-color image of   
      smoky skies and fires across the landscape of central South America.   
      The image is centered on Bolivia, where smoke hangs so heavily over the   
      plains north of the Andes Mountains, that it obscures the land from   
      view. Another thick patch of smoke sits near the border of Bolivia   
      (north), Paraguay (east), and Argentina (south). Parts of Chile is also   
      visible in the southwest. Fire, which appear as red “hot spots” also   
      are located in Brazil and are partially hidden under cloud.   
      
      The thickest smoke plumes amid the heavily forested (green) areas   
      typically rise from deforestation fires. These are usually lit to   
      dispose of piles of leftover wood, sometimes several months after   
      forests have been bulldozed. Forest clearing for ranching and farming   
      is common in much of central South America. Grassland fires lit by   
      ranchers and farmers to manage cattle pastures or croplands tend to be   
      smaller, emit smaller smoke plumes, and appear in brown-tinted   
      agricultural areas. These human-caused fires sometimes slip control to   
      become destructive wildfires that burn out of control.   
      
      Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) uses MODIS   
      observations to monitor daily fire activity in the Amazon; INPE   
      scientists also maintain a record of MODIS fire detections that spans   
      decades. The agency reported 39,727 Aqua MODIS fire detections in   
      Bolivia between January 1 and November 30, 2022. This is a 16 percent   
      rise in fires from the same period in 2021. Brazil has seen a 7 percent   
      increase in 2022, with 193,810 fires, while Argentina registered 42,413   
      fire detections in this time period, a rise of 35 percent from 2021.   
      Paraguay had a 32 percent decrease in fires detected, with 16,042 fires   
      in 2022.   
      
      The southern Amazon region was exceptionally dry during the 2022 dry   
      season, leading to an intense fire season by September. Usually, the   
      fire season winds down by October or November, yet MODIS fire   
      detections show activity continues, although not as fiercely as in   
      September. In mid-September 2022, NASA’s Earth Observatory published a   
      story titled “Smoke Blankets the Amazon” that discussed the intensity   
      of the September fires. That story can be found by clicking  here.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 11/29/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (1.3 MB),  500m (1.4 MB),  250m (4.5 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-12-01   
       
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