On August 4, 2003, fires (red dots) continued to burn across Portugal (left) and Spain (right), but the large cloud of smoke seen on the previous day had cleared. A severe European heatwave, with temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), is contributing to the explosive growth of the fires. 11 people have died, and 54,000 hectares (135,000 acres) of woodland have been burned. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite during the afternoon of August 4, 2003.
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Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
