(Bloomberg) -- Australian wildfires have generated more hotspots in the past two days than any other country and the intensity of the blazes is greater than the next 10 worst-affected countries combined, according to NASA satellite data.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration satellites detected 5,837 hotspots in Australia over the past 48 hours.
The U.S. space agency operates MODIS sensors aboard orbiting satellites that circle the globe every two days and capture data about the Earth's surface and atmosphere. In areas with wildfires, the instruments also measure the fire radiative power, an estimate of intensity of the blaze. The radiative power emitted from Australia is currently stronger than that of the fires raging across Central Africa or those in Brazil.
Smoke blanketed Sydney on Tuesday, with parts of the city recording air pollution levels 12-times higher than those deemed “hazardous.”
EARLIER: Sydney's Air Pollution Is So Bad It's Setting Off Fire Alarms
To contact the reporter on this story: Kevin Varley in Washington at kvarley@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Adam Majendie at adammajendie@bloomberg.net, Edward Johnson
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