A Smoke Pall Over Tropical Southern Africa. Watch

July 23, 2011 - A smoke pall dominates this view of tropical southern Africa, one of the most fire-prone regions of the world. Oblique, northwest-looking view showing the extent of smoke on the African plateau, from central Zimbabwe (lower left) to northern Malawi (top right), and in the wide coastal plains of the lower Zambezi River valley of Mozambique (lower right). Here smoke can be seen blowing inland, channeled up the Zambezi River valley and contributing to the pall on the plateau. The light grey smoke plumes contrast with higher altitude, brighter patchy cloud cover at image lower right. The smoke palls obscure the details on the land surface so that Lake Malawi, one of Africa's Great Lakes, is barely visible. The same goes for Lake Cahora Bassa, Africa's fourth largest reservoir, in the Zambezi valley. Solar panels extending from Russian spacecraft docked at the International Space Station are visible at image left.