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Fighting Fire With Fire

- NASA’s Aqua/MODIS imagery captured smoke from numerous fires in Australia’s Northern Territory on May 28, 2026. - Many detected fires are deliberate prescribed burns, typically lit in mornings to manage savanna fuel loads. - Indigenous practices and modern programs (e.g., WALFA, Arnhem Land Fire Abatement) coordinate large-scale early-season burning to create firebreaks. - Satellite analyses suggest these efforts shift fire activity earlier in the dry season and reduce late-season high-intensity fires and emissions.

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Photo by @secondsight / Unsplash

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