image: Fires dot the landscape around Russia's Lake Baikal. It is not clear what the origin of these fires is since it could be agricultural in nature, such as farmers setting fires to rid the fields of leftover crops, or it could be due to lightning strikes, and it could also be due to arson. In 2015 the area saw huge numbers of fires which decimated the area. This image does not show that type of fire activity, however it is early in the season. As seasonal temperatures hit record highs (and lows) around the world and weather changes, so too, fire patterns will change as well.
NASA's Aqua satellite collected this natural-color image with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, MODIS, instrument on June 20, 2017. Actively burning areas, detected by MODIS's thermal bands, are outlined in red.
Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC. Caption by Lynn Jenner