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Fires in China's Zhejiang Province

Smoke from fires burning near China's Zhejiang Province were visible in NASA satellite imagery on July 16, 2012.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument onboard Aqua has infrared capabilities that can detect heat from the various wildfires. The image was captured on July 16, 2012 at 05:10 UTC (1:10 a.m. EDT/11:10 p.m. Asia/Beijing local time). In the MODIS images, fires, or hot spots are color coded as red areas in imagery and smoke appears in light brown. Images are generated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

Zhejiang is a southeast coastal province of the People's Republic of China. According to BBC News, fires have destroyed hundreds of acres of forests in the region.

For a larger image without labels, visit: http://lance-modis.eosdis.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/imagery/single.cgi?image=crefl2_143.A2012198051000-2012198051500.2km.jpg

Image: Jeff Schmaltz, NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team; Caption: Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center