Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency (ESA) shows the severe effects of a heatwave that persisted across many regions of Europe this summer.
The scorching heat combined with a lack of rainfall dramatically impacted vegetation, and brown was the dominant color that was visible from space.
Cooler air and rain are now shifting some of the landscapes back to their normal shades of green. In other areas, however, wildfires caused damage to land and habitats that will take years to recover.
World Water Week is currently underway in Stockholm, and extreme events such as Europe’s intense heatwave remind us that freshwater, the planet’s most important natural resource, is under increasing pressure.
These images were obtained from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 missions, which are used to measure plant health as well as the health of the land.
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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
Video Credit: European Space Agency