Intentional Fires Near Volga River in Russia Could Contribute to Global Warming

Russia (HDW) August 25, 2004 - Scores of small fires (marked in red) were scattered across southern Russia on either side of the Volga River (runs north-south in right hand portion of scene), on August 23, 2004. This region between the Black and Caspian Seas (both out of scene to the southwest and southeast, respectively) is part of the Eurasian steppes, a flat, treeless area of southeastern Europe and central Asia. Today the region is a mixture of crop and grasslands. The fires pictured here are likely agricultural, with people clearing or renewing pasture or farmland. Though not necessarily hazardous, such large-scale burning can have a strong impact on weather, climate, human health, and natural resources. This image was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.