File:Fires and smoke in central Argentina (MODIS 2018-02-04).jpg

English: In the last week of December 2017, wildfires began to light up eastern Argentina, particularly La Pampas Province west of the town of Bahia Blanca. On January 6, 2018, Wildfire Today reported that the fires had already consumed more than 2.47 million acres (1 million hectares) and by January 29, towering pyrocumulonimbus rose from the most intense fires (see MODIS Image of the Day for February 2, 2018 for a look at the cloud). Wildfires have continued to consume dry pampas grasses throughout January and continue into the month of February. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the continuing fire activity in Argentina on January 31. Red hot spots mark areas where the thermal bands on the instrument detected high temperatures. When accompanied by typical smoke, such hot spots are diagnostic for actively burning fire. Heavy gray smoke rises from the fires and has spread over much of the area. In some places the smoke is so thick that it obscures the land from view.