Agricultural fires in the northernmost section of the Punjab state of India form a large cluster in this satellite image taken by Suomi NPP. What is striking about this image is the massive number of fires that are clustered up against the border between India and Pakistan. There are also fires in Pakistan, but they are not as plentiful in number. Actively burning areas, detected by VIIRS are outlined in red. When they are accompanied by smoke which appears as a haze in this image, they are indicative of fire. This form of farming in the region known as “slash and burn” has been practiced for thousands of years. It enables farmers to clear old crop, return nutrients to the soil, and prepare the ground for a new growing season. These fire clusters look similar to the ones that were captured also by the Suomi NPP satellite on October 19 of this year.
This image was captured by NOAA/NASA’s Suomi NPP’s Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on November 19, 2017. The Suomi NPP satellite is a joint mission between NASA and NOAA.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption: NASA/Goddard, Lynn Jenner