Fires in Northwestern India: Natural Hazards

In northwestern India on October 19, 2005, smoke from scores of agricultural fires created a thick haze across the plains at the base of the Himalaya Mountains (upper right). This image of the region was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer modis.gsfc.nasa.gov (MODIS) on NASA's aqua.nasa.gov Aqua satellite. The air quality in the region is often influenced by fires, dust storms, and urban pollution. The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides this image at http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/?2005292-1019/India.A2005292.0815.1km.jpg additional resolutions.