Dozens of fires were burning on Cuba on April 04, 2019, and were detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite. A few scattered fires were detected on the Bahamas Islands, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti as well. On Cuba, the widespread nature of the fires and the season suggests that these fires are being set intentionally for agricultural purposes. Though not necessarily hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources.
NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) Worldview application provides the capability to interactively browse over 700 global, full-resolution satellite imagery layers and then download the underlying data. Many of the available imagery layers are updated within three hours of observation, essentially showing the entire Earth as it looks “right now.” Actively burning fires, detected by thermal bands, are shown as red points. Image Courtesy: NASA Worldview, Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Caption: Lynn Jenner