From the tropical savannas in the north, vegetation in Western Australia (left half of image) and Northern Territory (right) transitions to hot, seasonally dry grassland in the middle of the image, and finally to desert conditions in the southern part of the image. In dry conditions such as these, the arid vegetation can go rapidly up in flames due to lightning or agricultural burns. This true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image captured by the Aqua satellite shows numerous large bushfires (red) burning throughout the region on November 1, 2002.
Image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
