Hundreds of fires were burning across the Brazilian Highlands in southeastern Brazil on September 24, 2003. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite captured this image of the fires, which are marked with red dots. A cement-colored patch along the coastline at bottom center of the image is the city of Rio de Janeiro. Remnants of original forest make dark green splashes against the paler terrain, which is primarily used for agriculture.
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.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
