The fires that have been plaguing Russia for months now have causing smoke to drift across the Pacific Ocean towards North America.
This image from the MODIS instrument on the Aqua satellite shows the smoke and the combination of smoke and clouds that is obscuring parts of the western area of North America. Scientists say that the intense heat from the fires has pushed the smoke 12 miles into the air, where it is carried by winds across the Pacific into the upper atmosphere. The increased particles in the air have produced especially red sunsets in California, Oregon, Washington state, and parts of British Columbia.
There currently does not seem to be any let up in the fire activity in Russia. Smoke from the fires has paralyzed air transport for several days and has reached dangerous concentrations in major Siberian cities.
The image was captured on August 09, 2012 at 21:50 UTC (8:50 am EDT). Images are generated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Image: Jeff Schmaltz, NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team; Caption: Lynn Jenner, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
There currently does not seem to be any let up in the fire activity in Russia. Smoke from the fires has paralyzed air transport for several days and has reached dangerous concentrations in major Siberian cities.
The image was captured on August 09, 2012 at 21:50 UTC (8:50 am EDT). Images are generated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Image: Jeff Schmaltz, NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team; Caption: Lynn Jenner, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
