Wildfires in Europe produce aerosols ‘seen’ from space

This image based on data from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite, captured on 26 July, shows the aerosol index over Spain and France, after days of wildfire spread through dry countryside.

Sentinel-5P is a Copernicus mission dedicated to monitoring Earth’s atmosphere. Its state-of-the-art spectrometer, Tropomi, measures trace gases such as nitrogen dioxide, ozone, formaldehyde, sulphur dioxide, methane, carbon monoxide and aerosols. It provides daily global coverage with unprecedented spatial resolution.

The aerosols shown in this image derive from three wildfire locations: the Gironde region west of Bordeaux, France; the region around Ávila, about 100 km northwest of Madrid; and an area north of Valencia.

Aerosols emitted by wildfires consist of microscopic solid particles and drops of liquid suspended in smoke, significantly degrading air quality across large regions.