Slew Of Satellite Projects Aims To Head Off Future Wildfires

Slew of satellite projects aims to head off future wildfires

Paris, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jan, 2025) As Los Angeles firefighters battle remaining hotspots more than a week into deadly blazes, scientists and engineers hope growing availability of satellite data will help in the future.

Tech-focused groups are launching new orbiters as space launches get cheaper, while machine learning techniques will sift the torrent of information, fitting it into a wider picture of fire risk in a changing environment.

Satellites "can detect from space areas that are dry and prone to wildfire outbreaks.... actively flaming and smouldering fires, as well as burnt areas and smoke and trace gas emissions. We can learn from all these types of elements", said Clement Albergel, head of actionable climate information at the European Space Agency.

Different satellites have different roles depending on their orbit and sensor payload.

Low Earth orbit (LEO) is generally less than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) above the surface -- compared with up to 14 km for an airliner.

Satellites here offer high-resolution ground images, but see any given point only briefly as they sweep around the planet.

Geostationary satellites orbit at around 36,000 km, remaining over the same area on the Earth's surface -- allowing for continuous observation but usually at much lower resolution.

As climate change brings growing numbers of wildfires encroaching on human-inhabited areas, that resolution can be crucial.

In Los Angeles, "there are satellite observations, but it's very hard to determine. Is it my house that's on fire? Where exactly is this?", said WKID Solutions' Natasha Stavros, a wildfire expert who has also worked at NASA.

"Some people stay because they don't really understand... that's where this idea (that) we need more observations available comes from."