<p>The agricultural fire season continued in northern India through mid-November, 2013. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on November 17.
</p><p>Dozens of red hotspots can be seen scattered across northwestern India, primarily in the Punjab region. Similar speckles are also seen in northeastern Pakistan. Smoke rises from these areas and pours to the east and southeast, contributing to the heavy haze south of the Himalayas. Such hotspots mark the locations where the thermal sensors on the MODIS instrument detected high temperatures. When combined with smoke, they indicate actively burning fires.
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Compared to earlier images, including an image from November 3 which was published as a MODIS Image of the Day on November 12, fewer fires are burn in India than earlier in the month, suggesting that the land-management needs have diminished as the new crops have been sown. In Pakistan, however, the number of hotspots has increased over earlier in the month. To compare images, go to <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2013-11-12">http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2013-11-12</a> .
<p>Jeff Schmaltz
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team,
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NASA GSFC
2013-11-17
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2013-12-27">Fires and smoke in northern India</a>