On April 17, NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of new fires breaking out near the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. On April 14, the fires that had broken out at the beginning of April were mostly extinguished, however smouldering sections still remained. On April 16, new fires erupted and spread quickly due to high winds. Large, dark gray billowing clouds of smoke rise from the fires in this image and are seen traveling more than 757 km (470 miles). This area is the site of the Chornobyl nuclear accident that occurred onApril 26, 1986, at the No. 4 nuclear reactor in the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR. Seasonal fires do break out around Chornobyl but it is estimated that the range of this fire from beginning to now has reached 50,000 acres which makes this wildfire the largest since the nuclear accident occurred.
Chornobyl
NASA: Fires near Chornobyl break out again
On April 17, 2020, NASA's Terra satellite captured this image of new fires breaking out near the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine.
