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Full catalog/VNP14IMGTDL_NRT
VNP14IMGTDL_NRT·v2·dataset

Where fires are burning right now (VIIRS, 375 m, near real-time)

VIIRS (S-NPP) I Band 375 m Active Fire Product NRT (Vector data)
biosphere NASA LANCEMODIS Level 2 Text FileShapefileKMLWMS
In plain English

What it measures. A near real-time list of spots on Earth where the satellite has detected an active fire burning, pinpointed to a resolution of about 375 meters. Because it works at a finer scale than older fire products, it catches smaller fires and traces the edges of big ones more accurately.

How it's made. Built from the VIIRS instrument on the Suomi-NPP satellite, which spots the heat signature of fires and packages the detections as map points delivered within hours of the satellite passing overhead.

How & where you'd use it. Feeds fire-management alert systems and lets responders, reporters, and the public see where fires are burning right now, available as map files in formats like KML and shapefile or via email alerts.

What's measured

BIOSPHERE › ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS › FIRE ECOLOGY › FIRE DYNAMICSLAND SURFACE › SURFACE RADIATIVE PROPERTIESLAND SURFACE › SURFACE THERMAL PROPERTIES › LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Coverage & cadence

  • Time span2016-01-01 → ongoing
  • Measured bySUOMI-NPP (VIIRS)
  • Processing levelLevel 2
  • Spatial extent-180, -80, 180, 80
  • FormatsText File, Shapefile, KML, WMS
  • StatusACTIVE

What you can do with it

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

Near real-time (NRT) Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Active Fire detection product is based on that instrument's 375 m nominal resolution data. Compared to other coarser resolution (≥1km) satellite fire detection products, the improved 375 m data provide greater response over fires of relatively small areas, as well as improved mapping of large fire perimeters. Consequently, the data are well suited for use in support of fire management (e.g., near real-time alert systems), as well as other science applications requiring improved fire mapping fidelity. The 375 m product complements the baseline Suomi NPP/VIIRS 750 m active fire detection and characterization data, which was originally designed to provide continuity to the existing 1 km Earth Observing System Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (EOS/MODIS) active fire data record. Due to frequent data saturation issues, the current 375 m fire product provides detection information only with no sub-pixel fire characterization. VNP14IMGTDL_NRT are available through NASA FIRMS in the following formats: TXT, SHP, KML, WMS. These data are also provided through the LANCE FIRMS Fire Email Alerts. Please note only the TXT and SHP files contain all the attributes.

Get the data

vnp14imgtdl_nrt_access.py
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc")          # free Earthdata Login

results = earthaccess.search_data(
    short_name="VNP14IMGTDL_NRT",
    version="2",
    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 LANCEMODIS
Browsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package.