South America VIIRS Active Fire Detections: Near-Real-Time Thermal Anomalies
Updated 23d ago
27filesSHP
Available on 1 platform
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Description
South America is covered by near-real-time active fire and thermal anomaly detections from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). The data is derived from the VIIRS sensor family, including Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21 satellites, and is updated typically within 3 hours of satellite acquisition. Files are available in SHP, KML, and CSV formats for time windows of the last 24 hours, 48 hours, and 7 days.
Use Cases
Monitor wildfire spread and intensity based on near-real-time thermal anomaly detections.
Analyze fire frequency and patterns across South America based on VIIRS sensor data.
Model environmental risk and land-use impact based on active fire location data.
Integrate fire detection data into early warning systems based on the 3-hour update cycle.
Strengths
Data is updated typically within 3 hours of satellite acquisition, enabling near-real-time monitoring.
Coverage includes multiple VIIRS sensors (Suomi-NPP since 2011, NOAA-20 since 2017, NOAA-21 since 2022), providing a multi-year record.
Files are available in three common geospatial formats (SHP, KML, CSV) for different analysis workflows.
Limitations
Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
Provenance
Source
NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS)
Collection Method
Derived from VIIRS sensor data (Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 satellites).
Time Range
Data available for last 24h, 48h, 7d; sensor records date back to 2011.
Freshness
Continuously updated; last metadata update was 2026-05-13.