Approximately 270,000 hectares of land have been consumed by the fires in Chile, resulting in over 20 deaths and more than 1000 injuries. The government has declared a state of emergency in the Biobio, Nuble, and Araucania regions and is seeking assistance from neighboring countries.
The optical image is a combination of images from the Ocean and Land Color Instrument (OCLI) and the Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer (SLSTR) on board the Sentinel-3 satellite, which highlights fire hotspots visible in orange and red.
Chile is experiencing a decade-long dry spell, and the searing heatwave and strong winds have caused the flames to spread and complicated efforts to extinguish them, with some affected areas experiencing air temperatures exceeding 40C. The current drought event in the Parana-La Plata Basin is the worst since 1944, according to the Global Drought Observatory report.
The fires also affect air quality by releasing large amounts of aerosols into the atmosphere. The Copernicus Atmosphere Service has reported forecasts of particulate matter 2.5 levels in the atmosphere until February 8th.
In response to the wildfires, the Copernicus Emergency Mapping Service has been activated to provide on-demand mapping to help civil protection authorities and the international humanitarian community in the face of major emergencies. Chile has requested support from the Member and Participating States to limit the consequences of the destructive fires.
ChatGPT was used to rewrite this ESA sourced article.
Related Links
Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission at ESA
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology
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