A satellite image captured over southeastern Australia today reveals just how different things look now compared to the same time last year.

NASA's Terra Satellite snapped an image of thick rain-bearing clouds over eastern NSW as it was passing over southeastern Australia on Wednesday. The image also revealed vast areas of clear sky over eastern Victoria as the state's Gippsland region bathed in sunshine.

Image: The view of southeastern Australia from NASA's Terra satellite on December 30, 2020. Source: NASA Worldview

This scene couldn't be more different to the same day in 2019.

An image captured by the Suomi NPP satellite on December 30 last year shows a landscape covered in smoke. At that time, fires were burning across NSW and Victoria, with a number of Emergency Warnings and widespread fire bans in place.

Image: The same view as above, taken captured by the Suomi NPP satellite on December 30, 2019. Source: NASA Worldview

Last year's satellite image also shows large smoke plumes being carried over the Tasman Sea as hot, dry and blustery winds flowed through Victoria ahead of an approaching front.

Thankfully, there are no major fires burning in southeastern Australia in the final days of 2020.