Thousands of Fires in Africa Continue To Burn Bright

Fires are commonplace in Africa at this time of year. Even the thousands of them as seen in this NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite image. Why? The most likely explanation is the type of agricultural practice that is employed in this area of the world. Called "slash and burn" this type of field clearing is both inexpensive and low tech. It also works. The resulting layer of ash generated by the slash and burn practice provides the newly-cleared land with a nutrient-rich layer to help fertilize crops. That is not to say that every fire in this image is controlled or contained. Often fires set to renew fields can grow out of control as winds or storms move the fire out of the area that was to be cleared. What is definite is that these fires have been burning for at least a month. Looking backward in NASA's Worldwide satellite imagery application, the basic number of fires appears constant for the past 30 days. Which brings up another point. While fire helps enhance crops and grasses for pasture, the fires also produce smoke that degrades air quality.

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