File:Fires in Angola (MODIS 2020-06-08).jpg

English: A shroud of smoke hung over northern Angola as many dozens of fires burned across the region in early June 2020. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of the scene on June 5. Each red “hot spot” is an area where the thermal bands on MODIS detected high temperatures. When combined with typical smoke, such hot spots are diagnostic for actively burning fire. The widespread nature of the fires, their location, and the time of year all suggest that people are intentionally setting most of these fires for agricultural purposes. Though not necessarily hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources. Most of the fires appear to burn in forest, suggesting slash-and-burn clearing, which is a major cause of deforestation.