Large parts of Bangladesh (center) and India (left and upper right) are underwater in this image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite captured August 6, 2003 (top image). The images have been enhanced to show the presence of water, which appears dark blue, while vegetation remains green, and clouds are white (liquid water) or light blue (ice crystals). Snow on the Himalaya Mountains, which run across the top of the image, is bright blue.
Compared to an image captured on March 5 (bottom) before the onset of the seasonal monsoon, rivers appear to be out of their banks and the terrain surrounding the Ganges River (flowing in from left edge) and the Brahmaputra River (flowing in from upper right) is waterlogged, with standing water giving the landscape a bruised appearance. Although flooding during the monsoon is normal, many parts of India, Bangladesh and Nepal are experiencing more severe flooding than usual.
Image courtesy Jesse Allen, based on data from the MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC
