Smoke in Buenos Aires, Argentina
A sequence of 3 daily AVHRR false-color images from the 16-18 April 2008 period (above; viewed using Google Earth) showed large amounts of smoke (the hazy-looking, lighter gray areas on the images) from fires that were burning in parts of Argentina. One of the largest fires was located between Rosario and Buenos Aires — according to media reports, thick smoke covered the capitol city of Buenos Aires for several days, causing hazardous air quality, aircraft flight delays, highway closures, and traffic accidents that claimed several lives. As many as 292 fires burned a total of 173,000 acres (70,000 hectares); these fires were apparently set by ranchers in an attempt to clear land to create fresh pasture for cattle.