14 DAY TRIAL // Using the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on its Terra satellite, the American space agency was recently able to capture an amazing image of more than 30 wildfires burning in the Siberian taiga, in Russia.
ITAR-TASS, an important Russian news agency, reported that the natural disasters, which are still sweeping through Siberia, have thus far affected 2,200 hectares (9 square miles) of land in the Yakutia region, as well as some 2,000 hectares in the Khabarovsk Territory.
The MODIS image above was collected by the NASA Earth Observatory yesterday, July 9, for use by scientists and Russian authorities. In the photo, the areas marked in red represent the taiga fires, which appear to be packed in clusters.
Taiga is the name given to a northern biome characterized by coniferous forests. It covers vast portions of Russia, Canada and Alaska, as well as Finland, Norway, Japan, the northern United States and other regions, to a smaller extent.