Introduction

In April 2025, prescribed agricultural burns lit up the sky near Wichita, Kansas. Prescribed burns are intentionally set fires managed by fire management professionals and occur in this area annually. They are crucial for improving and maintaining pasture and crop land health. Estimates show that approximately 2 million acres are burned from prescribed fires and wildfires every spring (February through April) on average in the Flint Hills region of Kansas.

Observations by NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites provide data and imagery about these fire locations, including information on location and air quality. Instruments that provide near real-time data include the Moderate Resolution Image Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua platforms and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) and NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 platforms.

The above image was derived from Terra/ Aqua MODIS Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) Aerosol Optical Depth data on April 11, 2025. Higher aerosol turbidity (>1 AOD) is showing downwind of the agricultural fires. Credit: NASA Worldview

The areal extent—how much area is impacted—of fire and smoke in the Flint Hills region of Kansas are visible in the image above. Aerosol turbidity refers to areas in the atmosphere where there are aerosol concentration changes. Downstream of the fire, shown in deep red, are areas where there are generally higher concentrations of aerosol turbidity. Like river turbidity, where sediment churns in the rapids causing the river to appear like chocolate milk, turbidity in the atmosphere refers to the particles that prevent light from penetrating the atmosphere. More aerosol turbidity means more airborne particles and poorer air quality, which can pose a health hazard to people who may experience symptoms from exposure.

Finding Fires

The above image shows Aqua True Color and Thermal Anomalies (hot spots) on April 11, 2025. Credit: NASA Worldview

The MODIS and VIIRS instruments are also able to detect hot spots, areas where thermal anomalies indicate possible fires or other reasons for warmer-than-normal surface temperature caused by geothermal activity or industrial activity.

Prescribed burns can impact air quality over the Wichita region during the spring when smoke concentrations sink, reaching the lower levels of the atmosphere, instead of being precipitated out through storms or scavenged by clouds, where smoke particles provide nuclei to increase cloud formation. Smoke modeling using surface-based observations and satellites help inform residents of areas where air quality may be impacted, while also making it possible for the farming communities to benefit from using agricultural burning to grow healthy crops.

Access the Data

• Multi-Angle Implementation of Atmospheric Correction (MAIAC) L2
• MOD02QKM - Level 1B Calibrated Radiances - 250m