The red dots in the embedded image above are fires and thermal anomalies detected by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument aboard the joint NASA/NOAA NOAA-20 satellite on August 28, 2024. Thick gray smoke emanates from fires burning in Brazil and Bolivia. High temperatures, low humidity, and extended drought throughout both countries are exacerbating the fires.
The image on the left (A side) is a true-color corrected reflectance image overlaid with the VIIRS fires and thermal anomalies layer, with detected hotspots shown as red dots. The image on the right (B side) shows the same area on the same date with an overlay of the Aerosol Index layer.
The Aerosol Index layer indicates the presence of ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing particles in the atmosphere (aerosols) such as desert dust and soot; it is related to both the thickness of the atmospheric aerosol layer and to the height of the layer. Values near 5 (shown in dark reds) indicate heavy concentrations of aerosols that could reduce visibility or impact human health, such as dust storms or smoke in the lower troposphere from biomass burning.
Swipe the bar back and forth to compare the imagery. Click on the icon in the upper right corner of the map to open a fully interactive map of the fires in NASA Worldview. You can also view this information in the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) Global Fire Map.
Visit Worldview to visualize near real-time imagery from NASA's EOSDIS; explore past imagery in our Worldview weekly image archive.
Dataset
VJ114IMGT_NRT doi:10.5067/FIRMS/VIIRS/VJ114IMGT_NRT.002
