NASA's Aqua satellite captured multiple plumes of smoke from agricultural fires and industrial pollution in China. The smoke and haze stretches from Inner Mongolia, located north of Beijing, south and west including the provinces of Hebei, Shedong, Henan, Shanxi, Hubai, Hunan, and Chongqing.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite has infrared capabilities that can detect heat from the various wildfires. This image was captured on June 2, 2013 5:55 UTC (1:55 a.m. EDT/2:05 p.m. MT). In the MODIS images, fires, or hot spots are color coded as red areas in imagery and smoke appears in light brown. Images are generated at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Image: Jeff Schmaltz, NASA Goddard MODIS Rapid Response Team; Caption: Rob Gutro, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center