10/15 NASA Satellite Image Showing Massive Fires Of Unknown Origin In North Korea

[hatrack]

Fires in North Korea

Multiple fires burned in North Korea in mid-October 2009, sending a plume of smoke over the Sea of Japan. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image on October 15. Red outlines indicate hotspots associated with active fires, although not all the fires have visible hotspots. The smoke plumes blow uniformly eastward, some of the individual plumes coalescing into a single large plume over the sea.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/world/20091019_korea.html

[Lerkfish]

1. weird, my rough estimate is 15-19 points of origin

depending on whether I'm judging correctly on origin points not outlined in red, but just from plumes.

what the hell? did they launch mutliple missiles that disastrously crashed? are these population areas or forest fires? I don't know enough about northern Korea to know.

[hunter]

2. It looks like California during a bad Santa Ana wind.

It's bad enough to live in North Korea without this. I hope people are able to evacuate.

[JuniperLea]

3. That's what I thought... embers carry, and there's an offshore wind going there...

So Cal just got past a very bad fire season that looked remarkably like this.

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions... we need a lot more information.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. how can anything burn there?

the people have had such starvation diets, that there is nothing left above ground.

[Javaman]

5. This just in...

N.Korea (AP) - People today in the Capital City of Pyongyang and through out the nation, spontaneously burst into flames.

Seemingly deliriously happy citizens delighted over their leader Kim Jong Il's recent decision to cut the nations daily calorie intake, erupted into flames out of pure joy.

"Il's broad-casted image in the past has causes a few unanticipated consequences in the past", states Minister of Complete Bullshit, "but the level of delight expressed by our fellow comrades is, to say the least, pleasing to our glorious leader!".

See from various satellite images, fires can be spotted through out the nation.

When the Minister was asked why people, in the most remote parts of the nation, who don't have access to TV or radio and were unaware of Il's announcement still burst into flames, he stated, "that the word of our fearless leader knows no bounds! Hearts of men and women can feel his presence!".

Further questions to the Minister were cut short after he spontaneously self combusted.