Fires in South Africa

In September and early November 2002, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra and Aqua satellites captured these true- and false-color images of eastern South Africa. Numerous fires were detected and are marked with red dots. Fires appear to be most heavily concentrated in the Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa.

Also just east of Lesotho (circular country in the southern part of the images) on November 7. On November 8, 2002, the highest concentration of fires has shifted from east of Lesotho to west of Swaziland (circular country near right center edge). The image from Sept. 19 is located to the south of the other images in the series. In many images, the country of Mozambique is visible northeast of South Africa.
In the false-color images, vegetation appears in shades of green, burned areas appear bright reddish-brown, and naturally bare soil appears pinkish-tan. South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa. Therefore stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Africa surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. Also South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa. Also the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people. Also is the world’s 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Bantu ancestry.

Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC