Global Fire Occurrence Probability Index

The newly-developed Fire Occurrence Probability Index (FOPI) aims to enhance fire danger predictions in environments where fuel is limited and where fire risk is influenced by the rapid drying of intermittent fuel. It does this by combining the widely-used Canadian fire weather index with observations of Vegetation Optical Depth from ESA’s SMOS mission, serving as an indicator of fuel quantity and moisture. The map shows the number of days between 1 May to 11 June 2023 that the FOPI was over 0.7. FOPI values range from 0 to 1; 0 being no danger, and 0.8 and above being extreme danger. 

Read full story: Forecasting fires with SMOS