April 26, 2015
On April 26, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this image of smoke from fires in Central America. Hotspots with the signature of fires are outlined in red.
The cloud of smoke on the lower right comes from fires in Honduras (not pictured; click on the image for a wider view). The green patch of protected land in the center of the peninsula appears to lack detectable fire activity.
Research has suggested that smoke from fires in Central America might contribute to the intensification of tornadoes in the United States.
References & Resources
- Saide, P.E. et al. (2015, February 13) Central American biomass burning smoke can increase tornado severity in the U.S. Geophysical Research Letters, 42 (3), 956-965.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Kathryn Hansen.
