The destructive power of wildfires, seen from space
Multiple destructive and, in some cases, deadly, wildfires have been burning around the world in recent weeks, as global heat waves have left regions hot and dry.
Over the years, wildfires have often been large enough to be visible from space, as their plumes of smoke have been captured by satellites and by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.
ISS036-E-029323_lrg Wildfires near Darwin Australia in 2013, seen from the International Space Station NASA/Karen Nyberg Wildfires near Darwin, Australia in 2013, seen from the International Space Station ISS032-E-024687_lrg Wildfires in Idado in 2012, seen from the International Space Station NASA As viewed from the ISS. ISS020-E-043017_lrg A wildfire in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming in 2009, seen from the International Space Station. NASA A wildfire in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming in 2009, seen from the ISS ISS004-E-12328_lrg The Bullock Fire outside Tucson, Arizona in 2002. NASA The Bullock Fire outside Tucson, Arizona in 2002. iss053e315812_lrg The 2017 Thomas Fire outside of Los Angeles, seen from the International Space Station. NASA/Donald “Stu” Broce The 2017 Thomas Fire outside of Los Angeles, seen from the space station iss052e002625_lrg Wildfire on the southern coast of South Africa in 2017. NASA Wildfire on the southern coast of South Africa in 2017. ISS028-E-037978_lrg Wildfires in Texas in 2011, seen from the International Space Station. NASA Smoke rises from Texas in 2011 mcmurray_vir_2016137_lrg mcmurray_vir_2016137_lrg NASA A satellite image from the Suomi-NPP satellite of the 2016 Fort McMurray fire in Alberta, Canada ISS036-E-009608_lrg The West Fork Complex fire in Colorado, seen in 2013 from the International Space Station. NASA The West Fork Complex fire in Colorado, seen in 2013 from the ISS IDL TIFF file A wildfire in Sweden, seen by the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite in 2014. NASA Towering smoke in Sweden, seen by the Operational Land Imager on the Landsat 8 satellite in 2014
Sign up for the Quartz Daily Brief, our free daily newsletter with the world’s most important and interesting news.
More stories from Quartz:
