Food Insecurity Hotspots: Intensity and Frequency 2009-2019

NASA's Food Insecurity Hotspots Data Set provides 250-meter resolution grids mapping the intensity and frequency of food insecurity over a decade. The data, derived from FEWS NET subnational analysis, covers five global regions and classifies insecurity using the IPC scale from Minimal to Famine. It identifies areas that have experienced consecutive food insecurity events.

Use Cases

• Prioritizing humanitarian intervention based on consecutive food insecurity events.
• Analyzing long-term trends in food security intensity across specific regions.
• Modeling climate vulnerability by correlating geospatial hotspots with environmental data.
• Validating early warning system outputs from FEWS NET subnational analyses.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution (250-meter) geospatial data.
• Covers a 10-year time range from 2009 to 2019.
• Based on authoritative subnational analysis from FEWS NET and uses the standard IPC classification.
• Available on multiple platforms, indicating established use and importance.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are not described in the provided metadata.
• Conflicting last-updated dates: one source lists 2019-12-31, another lists 2026-04 10, suggesting potential metadata errors or a future refresh.
• Specific file formats, row counts, and license information are not provided.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), based on analysis from FEWS NET (Famine Early Warning Systems Network).

Collection Method

Gridded data derived from subnational food security analysis using the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Time Range

2009 to 2019

Freshness

2026-04-10 19:26:36.349730

Geography

Central America and the Caribbean, Central Asia, East Africa, Southern Africa, West Africa.