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Full catalog/VJ114IMG
VJ114IMG·v002·dataset

Where fires are burning (VIIRS, NOAA-20, 375 m)

VIIRS/JPSS1 Active Fires 6-Min L2 Swath 375m V002
biosphere NASA LPCLOUD Level 2 active netCDF-4
In plain English

What it measures. Where active fires and other hot spots are burning, at 375-meter detail, along with supporting information like brightness temperature (how hot a spot looks to the sensor) and atmospheric conditions, in roughly 6-minute snapshots.

How it's made. Produced from the VIIRS sensor aboard the NOAA-20 satellite, using a fire-detection method designed to continue the long MODIS fire record.

How & where you'd use it. Helps locate fires and gauge their intensity, useful for wildfire response and monitoring, and can also flag thermal anomalies like volcanoes; it also feeds higher-level fire products.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS › FIRE ECOLOGY › FIRE OCCURRENCELAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURELAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE › THERMAL ANOMALIES

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2018-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured byNOAA-20 (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -90, 180, 90
  • FormatsnetCDF-4
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

  • Map vegetation, forests and biomass
  • Monitor ecosystem productivity and carbon
  • Support habitat and biodiversity studies
Official description

The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Active Fires (VJ114IMG) Version 2 product is produced in 6-minute temporal satellite increments (swaths) at 375 meter resolution from the VIIRS sensor aboard the NOAA-20 satellite. This product is designed after the Terra and Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Thermal Anomalies and Fire data products to promote the continuity of the Earth Observation System (EOS) mission. This data product can enable users to understand the location and intensity of fire events as well as thermal anomalies. The VJ114IMG product includes 25 science dataset variables to analyze key factors in fire detection, including atmospheric conditions (e.g., radiance, solar zenith angle, brightness temperature) and fuel type for the event. The fire mask variable in the VJ114IMG product is the primary variable and can be used to identify fires and other thermal anomalies such as volcanoes. Each swath of data is approximately 3,060 kilometers along track (long) and 3,060 kilometers across track (wide). The VJ114IMG product is also used to generate higher-level fire data products. Use of the [VJ103MODLL](https://doi.org/10.5067/viirs/vJ103modll.021) data product is required to apply accurate geolocation information to the VNP14IMG Science Datasets (SDS). Known Issues * For complete information about known issues please refer to the [MODIS/VIIRS Land Quality Assessment website](https://landweb.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/knownissue?sensor=VIIRS).

Get the data

vj114img_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VJ114IMG",
    version="002",
    bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9),  # your area (W,S,E,N)
    temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"),       # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results)   # stream straight from LPCLOUD
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.