Europe's free satellite service just made it easier to track wildfires

The Copernicus Browser, Europe's free satellite imagery service, has added a dedicated 'wildfires' visualization layer for Sentinel-2 data, making it easier for anyone to spot active fires, burned vegetation, and scorched landscapes. The layer, which went live on August 4, uses a script by remote sensing expert Pierre Markuse that combines visible, near-infrared, and short-wave infrared bands. Previously, users had to manually paste the script; now it's a default option, thanks to ESA mission scientist Simon Proud. This comes amid a record wildfire season, with fires raging in the US Pacific Northwest, Canada, France, and Spain.