Bushfires are ravaging Australia’s Kangaroo Island and NASA recently showed the devastating impact of the blazes in satellite images.
NASA’s Terra satellite recently snapped before and after imagery of the island, which lies off the mainland of South Australia. Kangaroo Island is known for its protective nature reserves that are home to many types of native animals, including glossy black-cockatoos, sea lions, and koalas. Almost a third of the island has been destroyed by the bushfires and Terra’s latest images show many burn scars across the landscape.
Kangaroo Island’s lush greenery is shown in a Dec. 16 image taken by NASA’s Terra satellite. (Photo Credit: NASA Worldview)
The bushfires, which started as lightning strikes in Flinders Chase National Park, have resulted in the loss of approximately 25,000 koalas, which is 50 percent of the island’s koala population. NASA says its satellites can monitor areas that are still burning and help firefighters assess damage.
NASA’s Terra satellite snapped an image of Kangaroo Island’s burn scars on Jan. 7. (Photo Credit: NASA Worldview)
Terra’s left image, which was taken on Dec. 16, 2019, shows Kangaroo Island’s lush green landscape before the bushfires. The satellite’s right image, which was snapped today, shows deep red burn scars on roughly one-third of the island.
Fires and Smoke Engulf Southeastern Australia https://t.co/pAuy0qZQkT #NASA
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) January 6, 2020
“NASA’s satellite instruments are often the first to detect wildfires burning in remote regions, and the locations of new fires are sent directly to land managers worldwide within hours of the satellite overpass,” NASA said in a press release. “Together, NASA instruments detect actively burning fires, track the transport of smoke from fires, provide information for fire management, and map the extent of changes to ecosystems, based on the extent and severity of burn scars.”
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