TORONTO -- New satellite images offer a view from space of the Australian wildfires raging in New South Wales and Victoria.
Thick smoke fills the frame of one photo taken east of a tourist town called Orbost by U.S space technology company Maxar.
Another image, captured by the International Space Station orbiting 433 kilometers above the Tasman Sea, shows the wildfires surrounding Sydney.
also released two images taken six months apart that show the drastic change in Australia’s southeast region along the border of Victoria and New South Wales. One photo taken on July 24, 2019 by the Landsat 8 satellite provides a clear view of vast green land. In the image taken on Jan. 1, 2019 shows the same area covered by thick smoke.
The wildfires have destroyed almost 2,000 homes and claimed 24 lives. Thousands have been forced to flee their homes in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. The wildfires have already burned about 12.35 million acres of land since September.
With files from The Associated Press
