False color corrected reflectance image (Bands 7-2-1) of fires in Sakha Republic, Russia on 12 September 2021. Fires have been burning in this region for the past few months caused by extreme heat waves and historic drought. This image was acquired by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradometer (MODIS), aboard the Aqua satellite. This image is a false color Red-Green-Blue (RGB) composite where Red is Band 7, Green is Band 2, and Blue is Band 1.
This combination is most useful for distinguishing burn scars from naturally low vegetation or bare soil and enhancing floods. Vegetation appears green, water is black and burn scars are red. Overlaid on the image are the Terra/MODIS Fires and Thermal Anomalies layer which is shown as orange dots, these represent the center of a 1km pixel containing one or more fires. Learn more: What does a MODIS active fire detection mean on the ground?
Click on the image above to visit Worldview to open the full version of Worldview in a new browser tab. Use the back and forward arrows on the map to see when the fires began to be visible in the satellite imagery.
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