May 1, 2023 - Wildfire and Dust at Lake Balkhash

Fire at Lake Balkhash
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On April 27, 2023, strong winds blew two long plumes—one of smoke and
the second, dust— westward across southeast Kazakhstan. The Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra
satellite acquired a true-color image of plumes across Lake Balkhash on
that same day.

Crescent-shaped Lake Balkhash spans about 17,000 square kilometers
(6,600 square miles), making it one of Asia’s largest lakes. The lake’s
waters are often filled with milky-tinted swirls, primarily due to
suspended sediment, either stirred up from the shallow bottom by wind
and waves or poured into Balkhash from the rivers that feed it. The Ili
River, which enters along the southwestern shoreline, brings about 70
to 80 percent of fresh water into the lake and creates a large, fertile
delta.

The Ili River Delta appears dark in this image, and is spotted with a
few red marks. These red spots, called “hot spots”, are located where
the thermal bands on the MODIS instrument detected high temperatures.
In this location at this type of the year, they are likely due to
actively burning fire, mostly likely set to clear land ahead of
planting crops or to freshen pasture. The Ili River Delta is a rich
agricultural area where fire is often used to manage land, especially
in the springtime.

A cluster of large hot spots sits on the south-central shoreline, and
is the source of the large smoke plume that stretches across the lake.
According to the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS),
this is a forest fire. First reported on April 17, the fire spanned
22,271 hectares as of April 30.

The most southerly long, light-colored plume rises from a
mineral-encrusted, dry portion of the lake bed at the tip of Lake
Balkhash. It almost certainly contains dried minerals, especially salt,
along with fine dust.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 4/27/2023
Resolutions: 1km (22 KB), 500m (75.1 KB), 250m (234.5 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-05-01

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