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NASA shows Amazon fires turning atmosphere from green to red with carbon monoxide

Khabarhub

August 25, 2019

2 MIN READ

NASA shows Amazon fires turning atmosphere from green to red with carbon monoxide

Photo: AP

AMAZON: The wildfires blazing in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has turned Earth’s atmosphere from green to red with heavy concentrations of carbon monoxide according to an animation that was tweeted by NASA, reports Globalnews.ca.

The animation was produced using data from the space agency’s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument, which is located on the Aqua satellite at an altitude of approximately 5,500 meters.

Green represents carbon monoxide at a concentration of 100 parts per billion (ppbv), while yellow suggests 120 parts per billion, and dark red signifies 160 parts per billion.

The graphic shows clouds of red coalescing in the sky over Brazil before they travel west and east, over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, respectively.

NASA noted that pollutants can travel great distances and that carbon monoxide, in particular, can remain in the atmosphere for as long as a month.

“At the high altitude mapped in these images, the gas has little effect on the air we breathe,” the space agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said in a press release.

“However, strong winds can carry it downward to where it can significantly impact air quality.”

Two satellite images released by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration show smoke from a wildfire raging in the Amazon rainforest, according to Globalnews.ca.com.

The number of wildfires burning in the region has hit a record high in 2019.

(Agencies)

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