Following a notable increase in fire activity in August 2019 and a gradual rise in deforestation, scientists have been watching for signs of how 2020 might shape up. Several worrisome signs have emerged.
A handful of fires in the Bío-Bío region of Chile were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Aqua satellite on January 13, 2007. The largest of the fires are near the coast, south of the Itata River.
Dozens of fires were burning in eastern Russia on April 29, 2009, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image.