Botswana Vegetation Health: 10-Day FAPAR Anomalies from VIIRS

This geospatial dataset provides 10-day time composite FAPAR (Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation) anomalies for Botswana, produced by Copernicus using VIIRS sensor data. The data measures vegetation greenness and health on a scale of 0 to 1 to monitor agricultural drought impacts. It was last updated in March 2026 and is delivered in GEOTIFF format.

Use Cases

• Detecting agricultural drought by analyzing FAPAR anomaly deviations from historical norms
• Monitoring seasonal vegetation health trends using the 10-day time composite rasters
• Assessing photosynthetic activity levels using the 0 to 1 dimensionless FAPAR scale

Strengths

• 10-day temporal resolution for high-frequency monitoring
• Derived from standardized VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) sensor data
• Uses a standardized biophysical scale (0 to 1) for cross-region comparison

Limitations

• Geographic scope is strictly limited to Botswana
• Requires GIS-specialized software to process GEOTIFF raster formats
• Lack of explicit spatial resolution (e.g., 250m vs 1km) in the provided documentation

Provenance

Source

Copernicus

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)

Freshness

Updated as of March 2026 with a 10-day temporal frequency.

Geography

Botswana