heat and drought
Flames are not only blazing in Portugal: Nasa map shows forest fires around the world
The map shows forest fires worldwide. Each dot represents a fire. An interactive version can be found at the bottom of the article
© NASA
Forest fires in Portugal, France, Germany. And not only there: Fires are blazing all over the world. Sometimes they are part of the ecosystem, sometimes they are just destructive. This map shows where fires are raging.
In many parts of Europe it is currently very hot and very dry. Similarly, the risk of forest fires is increasing in the regions or the fires have already broken out. In Portugal, for example, where more than 30 forest fires were raging at the beginning of the week. Firefighters also fought flames in many places in France and Italy. There were also individual fires in this country, for example in Brandenburg. Another heat wave in the coming days increases the fire risk even more.
But the forests are not only burning in Europe. There is fire on every continent. The red dots do not always herald catastrophes: in the savannahs of southern Africa, dry grass burns down every year. However, this does not necessarily mean destruction, but is part of the natural regeneration process in this ecosystem. The situation is different in the Amazon region, where a number of fires in the rainforest have been caused in recent years by slash and burn (more on the subject here).
Wildfires: Map shows fires around the world
The map above shows where in the world fires are currently located. You can move the section and zoom in or out. You also have the option of showing or hiding the levels you want.
NASA documents these fires and shows the recorded fires on an interactive world map. Each dot represents a fire. In order to localize the fires, the space agency uses various satellite data, among other things, and evaluates them for projection on the world map. For example, a very high level of CO2– Concentration in an area indicates a fire. The gas carbon monoxide (CO2) occurs during burns and thus allows conclusions to be drawn about the source of the fire.
In the gallery: Heat wave in France, forest fires in the USA and water shortages in India: The climate crisis is leaving increasingly visible traces around the world. The images of an unprecedented drought.