Global hot spots

The ESA global detection of hot spots by ERS-2’s Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2) and Envisat’s Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) in 2005. These twin radiometers work like thermometers in the sky, measuring thermal infrared radiation to take the temperature of Earth’s land surfaces. Temperatures exceeding 312K (38.85ºC) are classed as burning fires.