April 23, 2023 - Fires in and around Iberá National Park

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On April 20, 2023, multiple fires were burning in Iberá National Park,
a protected wilderness in northeastern Argentina. The Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua
satellite acquired a true-color image of the region on that same day.
Actively burning fires are marked in red and heavy gray smoke plumes
pour from some of the larger fires in the southwest.

Iberá National Park is a protected area of wetlands and grasslands
established in 2018 with land acquired by conservation groups and then
donated to the government of Argentina. Encompassing 1,370 square
kilometers (530 square miles) of the Corrientes region, the park is
part of a “rewilding” program which aims to reintroduce keystone
species, such as jaguars and capybaras, that have previously been
driven away by hunting, ranching and other human activities.

Fire activity has been higher than average, especially in and around
the park, for the last two years. Several fires reportedly began
burning in late December 2022 and continued to burn through February
2023. Using the NASA Worldview App to view daily MODIS imagery, fire
activity appeared to diminish through March, but by mid-April, some
fires appeared to reignite while additional hot spots appeared.

The cause of the individual fires is not clear, but the region has
sweltered under repetitive heat waves this summer, with temperatures as
high as 104˚F (40˚C) in mid-February. In addition, much of northeastern
Argentina is suffering from long-standing drought. The combination of
high air temperatures and dry vegetation creates a high risk of
wildfire.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 4/20/2023
Resolutions: 1km (56.4 KB), 500m (229.9 KB), 250m (809 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=2023-04-23

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