Suggested Searches

 

1 min read

Fires in West Africa

NASA Earth Observatory

Mar 18, 2009
Article
Instruments:
Topics:
2009-03-17 00:00:00
March 17, 2009

Agricultural and other land-management or trash-burning fires are widespread across West Africa in the dry season. This image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on March 17, 2009, shows scores of fires (locations marked in red) burning in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. Although agricultural burning such as this is not necessarily immediately hazardous, it can have a major impact on air quality and human health, climate, and natural resources.

References & Resources

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

Downloads

2009-03-17 00:00:00

March 17, 2009

JPEG (1.41 MB)

You may also be interested in:

Stay up-to-date with the latest content from NASA as we explore the universe and discover more about our home planet.
Fighting Fire With Fire
3 min read

In fire-prone ecosystems in Australia's Northern Territory, prescribed burns are lit to minimize the severity of fires later in the…

Article
Smoke Streams Across Eastern Washington
3 min read

Wildland fires in early August 2026 pushed air quality to unhealthy levels, destroyed hundreds of structures, and triggered mandatory evacuations…

Article
Ontario Wildfire Smoke Moves East
3 min read

Canadian wildfires sent plumes of smoke streaming over Ontario, Quebec, and parts of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast.

Article
Keep Exploring

Discover More from NASA Earth Science

Subscribe to Earth Observatory Newsletters

Subscribe to the Earth Observatory and get the Earth in your inbox.

Earth Observatory Image of the Day

NASA's Earth Observatory brings you the Earth, every day, with in-depth stories and stunning imagery.

Explore Earth Science

Earth Science Data

Open access to NASA’s archive of Earth science data