Scores of fires (marked in red) were choking the skies above far eastern Russia (left) and Sakhalin Island (right) on July 24, 2003. According to news reports, the Russian Emergencies Ministry is saying this may the worst year on record for forest fires in the region. Since the beginning of the year, fires have burned 20,000 square kilometers of forests—almost 5 million acres. Far eastern Russia and Siberia are the most active spots. The region experienced unusually hot, dry weather during the spring and early summer, which has made conditions prime for fires. This image was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite.
The high-resolution image provided above is 500 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response System provides this image at MODIS’ maximum spatial resolution of 250 meters.
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Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
