Fires in Northwest India

Credit: Jeff Schmaltz; MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Saturday, 28 October 2006, 09:19 CDT Download full size image

Agricultural fires (marked in red) dotted the state of Punjab in northwestern India on October 15, 2006, when the MODIS on NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and captured this image. The green of the fields, watered by rivers and streams flowing out of the Himalaya Mountains to the north, contrasts sharply with the more arid terrain, which appears tan.

About two-thirds of the food grain grown in India is grown in this area. Farmers use fire to clear brush and crop stubble from fields. Although such fires are not necessarily immediately hazardous, they can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources.

The black line running through the center of the image diagonally, shows the border between India (on the right) and Pakistan (on the left).

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