Unlocking Insights: How Satellite Remote Sensing Revolutionizes Forest Fire Detection

Climate change is real and its evidence is staggering in its performance in the form of floods, destruction of crops, and increase in average global temperature causing raging wildfires all across the globe at important forest reserves and wildlife sanctuaries endangering the lives of millions of flora and fauna. It is a pressing issue globally and we need to find ways to deal with it immediately and effectively. One of the problems that we are facing in regards to forest fires is early detection and there may be a solution to this, this article explores how remote sensing can help in the early detection of a possible forest fire.

• Types of Forest Fires

  Surface Fire - A forest fire may burn primarily as a surface fire, spreading along the ground as the surface litter (senescent leaves and twigs and dry grasses, etc) on the forest floor is engulfed by the spreading flames.

  Underground Fire - The fires of low intensity, consuming the organic matter beneath and the surface litter of the forest floor are sub-grouped as underground fires. In most of the dense forests, a thick mantle of organic matter is found on top of the mineral soil. This fire spreads by consuming such materials.

  Ground Fire - These fires are fires in the sub-surface organic fuels, such as duff layers under forest stands, Arctic tundra or taiga, and organic soils of swamps or bogs. There is no clear distinction between underground and ground fires.

  Crown Fire - A crown fire is one in which the crown of trees and shrubs burn, often sustained by a surface fire. A crown fire is particularly very dangerous in a coniferous forest because resinous material given off burning logs burns furiously.

  Firestorms - Among the forest fires, the fire spreading most rapidly is the firestorm, which is an intense fire over a large area. As the fire burns, heat rises and air rushes in, causing the fire to grow. More air makes the fire spin violently like a storm.

• The Cause of Forest Fires

  Climate change is one of the major causes of forest fires, as global temperatures are rising day by day the heat waves are instigating the Forest fires. High atmospheric temperatures and dryness (low humidity) offer favorable circumstances for a fire to start.

  There are man-made causes, as well as fires, which could be elevated through the smoke or the usage of flammable substances such as oil, or even the use of cigarettes can also start a fire.

• What is Remote Sensing and How it Can Help

  As the fires are detected manually through word of mouth, most of the damage is already done, and as the wildfires grow in intensity it becomes extremely difficult to control it and requires much more labor power and resources to deal with it.

  Remote sensing is a technology that helps in fetching information without coming directly in contact with it physically. Satellite Monitoring could be the solution we are looking for as it can provide real-time data by detecting the concentration of smoke in the area thereby alerting us to take immediate actions. In satellite remote sensing, information about the Earth's surface and atmosphere is acquired using sensors mounted onboard satellites orbiting the Earth.

• Types of Data garnered by Satellite Monitoring Include :

  Heat Emissions: During a fire event, the heat emitted by active fires can be detected by infrared sensors onboard a satellite. This procedure is commonly known as 'hot spot detection'. Fire hot spots can be detected and monitored during a fire event to provide information on the general locations, spatial distributions, and temporal evolution of fire.

  Light Detection: The Satellite can scan a wide area on the ground. It captures light in two main ranges: visible to near-infrared and thermal infrared. The data comes in two resolutions: "fine" and "smoothed."

  Smoke Detection: In images taken from above, smoke plumes are clear signs of active fires. They appear as fuzzy, bright streaks, usually pointing towards the ground. If multiple plumes are visible, they tend to line up with the wind direction.

  Burned Area: Burned areas stand out in remote sensing images because they look different from unburned areas. Maps made from these images show us where fires have spread and how big the affected area is.

  Monitoring Fires in Real-Time: A continuous effort to monitor fires in a region is been made possible. We use data from satellites to track fires and smoke plumes. When hot spots are detected, satellites zoom in for a closer look. Daily reports with annotated images are then sent to the Ministry of Environment, helping them respond to fires effectively.



• Conclusion

  Early fire detection is going to save a lot of lives both plants and animals and even human beings, but it’s important to address these issues globally and be aware of the changing climate as life on this planet can only progress when we all work together to a sustainable future. Causes that elevate the global temperature must be dealt with and technology should be incorporated to solve these pressing issues.