Acquired August 19, 2009, this true-color image shows thick smoke from fires in southern British Columbia clouding skies over Vancouver, Seattle, and Spokane. The image also shows a dramatic transition in land cover between eastern and western Washington.
Sunday, December 11, 2005, was a day without sun for many Londoners. At about 6 a.m. local time, an explosion rocked a fuel depot in Hertfordshire, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of London. The ensuing oil fire sent thick clouds of sun-blocking black smoke billowing over London and South England.
With dozens of wildfires burning in a part of Russia best known for its frigid winters, the CALIPSO satellite offered this view through the clouds and smoke.
As satellites observed, an intense wildfire in Quebec, Canada, lofted smoke high into the atmosphere in June 2013. Winds then drove the smoke across the Atlantic Ocean all the way to Europe.