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Full catalog/VNP14IMG
VNP14IMG·v002·dataset

Where active fires are burning, fine detail (VIIRS, Suomi-NPP, 375 m)

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

What it measures. The location and intensity of actively burning fires and other hot spots (like volcanoes), pinpointed at 375-meter detail. Its fine resolution catches smaller fires and maps the edges of big ones better.

How it's made. Generated from the VIIRS instrument on the NASA/NOAA Suomi-NPP satellite, which detects the heat signature of fires in each roughly 6-minute strip of imagery as the satellite passes overhead.

How & where you'd use it. Used for spotting wildfires, watching them grow, supporting firefighting and air-quality response, and feeding broader fire-monitoring systems.

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 span2012-01-17 → ongoing
  • Measured bySuomi-NPP (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 (VNP14IMG) Version 2 product is produced in 6-minute temporal satellite increments (swaths) at 375 meter resolution from the VIIRS sensor aboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. This Level 2 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. Due to its higher spatial resolution, the VNP14IMG active fire product provides greater response over fires of relatively small areas, as well as improved mapping of large fire perimeters in comparison to the VNP14 fire data product. The VNP14IMG 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 VNP14IMG 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 VNP14IMG product is also used to generate higher-level fire data products. Use of the (VNP03MODLL) data product is required to apply accurate geolocation information to the VNP14IMG Science Datasets (SDS) / Variables. 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

vnp14img_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP14IMG",
    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.