NASA satellites confirm Amazon rainforest is burning at a record rate
By Passant Rabie
27 August 2019
(Space.com) – As raging fires continue to sweep through the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, NASA satellites and astronauts aboard the International Space Station are tracking the flames from above. Their view confirmed that this is the most active fire year in Brazil since 2010.
Fire detections by NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite have been the highest since the year 2010 so far, with indications that 2019 may hit a record number of fires in the Amazon. NASA has been using MODIS sensors to detect thermal anomalies all over the world since 2003.
The timing and location of MODIS’ fire detections during this year’s dry season in the rainforest are more consistent with land clearing than regional drought, Douglas Morton, chief of the Biospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement by NASA.
“MODIS detections are higher in 2019 than at this time last year in all seven states that comprise the Brazilian Amazon,” Morton added. [more]
NASA Satellites Confirm Amazon Rainforest Is Burning at a Record Rate
2019 fire season updates: 24 August 2019
24 August 2019 (GFED) – Cumulative active fire detections of the fire season from May 1st through August 22nd, 2019 from MODIS and VIIRS confirm that the 2019 fire season has the highest fire count since 2012 (the start of the VIIRS record) across the Legal Amazon. In addition, fires in 2019 are more intense than previous years, measured in terms of fire radiative power, consistent with the observed increase in deforestation. […]
2019 fire season forecast
Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropical Pacific Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean during early half of year 2019 were higher than the mean values during the 2001-2015 period of satellite fire observations. By combining the SSTs in both oceans, we projected a high fire risk for almost all regions (except for Santa Cruz) in the Amazon during the 2019 dry season. Amazonas and Pará have the highest risk according to our forecast. For more information on the 2019 Amazon fire forecast, please see the fire forecast page (available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese). [more]
