There are several large fires burning on Portugal’s Madeira Island and mainland and NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of the smoke generated from them.
This natural-color satellite image was collected by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument that flies aboard NASA-NOAA’s Suomi NPP satellite. VIIRS imagery identified smoke on Aug. 9 at 8:55 a.m. EDT (12:55 UTC). Actively burning areas are outlined in red.
Madeira is an archipelago of four islands located off the northwest coast of Africa. They are an autonomous region of Portugal.
The National Civil Protection (NPS) service reports a major forest fire in Portugal’s Madeira Islands. The fire has triggered evacuations of over 400 people. NPS reported that other wildfires have also been burning in the mainland.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, NASA Goddard Rapid Response Team.
Caption: Rob Gutro, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.