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Pyrocumulonimbus clouds in Western Australia

By Scott Bachmeier •

Himawari-8 “Red” Visible (0.64 µm, left), Shortwave Infrared (3.9 µm, middle) and “Clean” Infrared Window (10.4 µm, right) images, from 0400-0800 UTC on 17 November [click to play animated GIF]

10-minute JMA Himawari-8 Visible, Shortwave Infrared and Infrared Window images (above) showed 2 pulses of pyrocumulonimbus clouds that were spawned by a large bushfire in Western Australia on 17 November 2025. The pyroCb cloud pulses exhibited a cloud-top 10.4 µm infrared brightness temperature (IRBT) of -40ºC or colder (denoted by darker blue pixels) — a necessary condition to be classified as a pyroCb.

Categories: Fire detection, Himawari-8