New satellite images show Brazil ‘less green’ and more smoggy

Last week, NASA and the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the first images taken by the GOES satellites, which were placed into orbit in late June.

Orbiting 22,000 miles above the equator, GOES is a series of geostationary meteorological satellites—meaning they move around the Earth at the same speed as the planet, allowing continuous monitoring of the environment from fixed points on the surface.

The initiative confirmed that: Brazil seen from above is no longer as ‘green’ as it used to be We’ve also watched the impact of wildfires in the Midwest and the AmazonFor several days, smoke spread over different parts of Brazilian territory.

Fires in the Amazon

At the beginning of August, the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) detected via satellite almost twice as many active fires in the Brazilian Amazon compared to the same period in 2023. This is a record for the last twenty years, with more than 11 thousand outbreaks recorded.

NASA has released an image that clearly shows Columns of smoke from wildfires in the AmazonIn the photo you can see the outbreaks in the states of Pará and Amazonas.

“Dense smoke was present in the Apuí region of the Amazon and along the BR-163 highway in southern Pará. Triangular plumes of smoke were flowing from recently deforested areas – often adjacent to minor roads off the main highway, forming a fish ‘spine pattern’ of cleared land when viewed from above,” reads the text published by NASA.

“The cleared lands in this region are generally used for livestock and agricultural production.”

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