PARIS, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- The European Space Agency said satellite data suggested Greece has suffered more wildfires this month than European nations have during the last decade.
The ESA said its ERS-2 and Envisat satellites continuously survey fires burning across the Earth’s surface with onboard sensors -- the Along Track Scanning Radiometer, or ATSR, and the Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer.
The sensors measure thermal infrared radiation across Earth's land surfaces. Temperatures exceeding about 95 degrees Fahrenheit at night are classed as burning fires. Data gathered through Monday show Greece has had four times the number of fires this August as compared with its July and August 1998 records.
Weather conditions this year, including record-high summer temperatures and hot, dry winds, have made parts of the Mediterranean, including Greece and southern Italy, a tinderbox, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said.
The ESA's ATSR data are available in near-real time at http://dup.esrin.esa.int/ionia/wfa/index.asp.
