Northern Australia

The bushfire situation in much of Eastern Australia has calmed down since last weeks peak. Currently, the main area of fire is the usual activity in northern parts of the country, particularly the Top End and Cape York Peninsula.

The image (click to enlarge), a composite of two overpasses from the Aqua satellite, shows this activity. The most striking activity from this viewpoint is that on Cape York. Many are burning in and around Lakefield National Park.

Further west, several large fires are visible in eastern Arnhem Land. There are also some hotspots indicated in the Gulf Country, both near Arnhem Land and just on the QLD border.

Another large cluster of hotspots is noted just to the south of Lake Argyle, near the NT-WA border. These are burning near the Ord River. To the east of that fire, the scar from the fire near Wave Hill is visible.

Weatherwise, it has been hotter than normal across most of northern Australia. In the WA fire region noted, maximum temperatures were 40+ C. Other than that, the normal high to very high fire dangers found in the peak of fire season in the area.

In the southern part of the image, a large cloud of dust is visible. Western QLD was struck over night, and the storm has carried through much of the day (apparently from the image...), at least in southern and central NT...