MSGID: 1:317/3 641f36ca   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   March 25, 2023 - Fires and Smoke in Southeast Asia   
      
      Fires and Smoke   
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      Dozens of fires, each marked in red, speckled the landscape of   
      Southeast Asia on March 23, 2023, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging   
      Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a   
      true-color image of the region.   
      
      The image is centered on Laos (south) and Vietnam (north), with fires   
      also seen in southern China, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma). A thick   
      pall of smoke obscures most of the coastal region of the South China   
      Sea from view, with smoke also settling into the low valleys inland.   
      Hanoi, Vietnam, sits under both a gray haze and a dingy-appearing   
      cloud.   
      
      March is the end of the dry season across Southeast Asia, and this is   
      the time of year when fires become widespread as people use burning to   
      clear and maintain agricultural fields and pastures. In permanently   
      cultivated (usually lowland) areas, fires are used to burn crop   
      residues and get the land ready for the growing season. In urban and   
      residential areas, people burn leaves, trash, and brush. In the   
      mountains, fires may indicate permanent conversion of forest to   
      agricultural land, or they may be associated with shifting cultivation,   
      also known as swidden farming. In this system, patches of forest are   
      cyclically cut down, burned, cultivated, and then left fallow for a   
      time. Secondary forest or other vegetation reclaims the clearing during   
      the fallow period.   
      
      While smoke is undoubtedly a primary source of the thick aerosol haze,   
      it is likely so thick due to a temperature inversion. Air normally   
      cools with altitude, but during an inversion warm air settles above a   
      layer of cool air near the surface. The warm air acts like a lid and   
      traps pollutants near the surface, especially in basins and valleys. In   
      addition to smoke from the widespread fires, other sources of aerosols   
      that may contribute to the haze include coal and wood burning for heat,   
      industrial activity, dust storms, and vehicle emissions.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 3/23/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (312.4 KB),  500m (1.1 MB),  250m (3.3 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=2023-03-25   
       
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