The World Today
Copernicus has chosen as its Image of the Day a photo taken on August 16 by Sentinel-2, showing dense plumes of smoke rising from the wildfires near Ourense, Galicia.
By August 17, Spain had already recorded its highest annual estimated emissions from fires in the 23-year Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) dataset. Portugal has also been severely affected by the fires. According to CAMS data, the country's estimated emissions have nearly reached the annual highs of 2003 and 2005. In neighboring Portugal, the northern and central regions are the most affected.
To support national authorities, the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) has been activated to provide emergency mapping services. Furthermore, the Director General of Civil Protection, Virginia Barcones, indicated this Wednesday that the European Civil Protection Mechanism (ECM) has been requested to activate the Copernicus satellite for fires at the request of the Ministry of the Interior , and that images are now available for Galicia, Asturias, Castile and León, and Extremadura.
