Satellite snaps of Spain's raging wildfires
Satellite Technology Aids in Battling Extreme Forest Fires in Europe
Europe is currently grappling with a series of extensive forest fires in northwest Spain and northern Portugal, a situation that has prompted the activation of the European Emergency Mapping Service Copernicus.
Satellites in orbit are providing vital information about these fires, with images from the Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 missions offering a comprehensive understanding of the disaster's scale. An image from the Sentinel-3 mission on August 17 shows smoke covering areas of Galicia and northern Portugal, extending towards the Bay of Biscay, and entering the Spanish Mediterranean coast. A false-color image acquired on August 16 by the Sentinel-2 mission highlights the fire fronts in northeastern Portugal and northwestern Spain, allowing precise identification of the hardest-hit areas.
The NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 satellites are also being used to detect the most active points of the forest fires in real-time, using infrared radiometers.
These maps, created using satellite images and geospatial data, are crucial for guiding emergency teams, facilitating damage assessment, and preparing preventive measures. They are also essential for understanding the impact of these fires on the climate.
The European Space Agency (ESA) recognizes fire as a determining factor in climate balance, as it alters the atmosphere, modifies carbon cycles, and transforms ecosystems. The ESA drives projects like the Climate Change Initiative and XFires, which produce long-term global data to improve predictive models and support international policies, including the Paris Agreement. The organization behind the XFires project, which helps improve the understanding of wildfire impacts on climate and enhances global databases, is not directly specified in the provided search results.
The fires release pollutants that degrade air quality, with carbon monoxide being an invisible and toxic gas that poses an additional health risk to millions of people. Data from the Atmospheric Surveillance Service (CAMS) shows high concentrations of carbon monoxide in southern Europe. The Sentinel-5P satellite, along with Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 instruments, monitors atmospheric pollution and greenhouse gases that contribute to the climate crisis.
Experts warn that these extreme episodes of forest fires will no longer be exceptional, due to the increase in temperatures, drought, and changes in weather patterns. Satellite technology is serving as an ally in addressing the forest fires and their aftermath.
However, these fires are a significant concern for climate balance, as they contribute to altering the atmosphere, modifying carbon cycles, and transforming ecosystems. The satellite view offers a crucial perspective for preparing a response to a crisis that experts predict will become increasingly common in a warming planet.
