Unusually cold temperatures and snow marked the first week of August 2006 in South Africa. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on August 5, most of Lesotho, an enclave within South Africa, was covered with snow. The snow highlights the country’s mountainous terrain, with the peaks reflecting bright white light and the valleys in shadow. The snowstorm trapped 39 people who had to be rescued from Lesotho’s mountain roads by helicopter, reported the BBC. No injuries were reported.
The large image provided above is at MODIS’ maximum resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides daily images of South Africa in a variety of resolutions.
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NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC.
