NASA SPACE APPS 2026 // ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LAB

Himalayan Wildfire Regimes & Radiative Telemetry

Scientific Monograph // Western Himalayan Thermal Telemetry

This empirical study quantifies the spatial, temporal, and topographic drivers of wildfire activity across Uttarakhand, India for the complete 2025 observation cycle. Synthesizing 7,541 boundary-validated radiometric observations from NASA FIRMS (MODIS Terra/Aqua & VIIRS Suomi-NPP) with the Copernicus GLO-30 Digital Elevation Model, the findings demonstrate pronounced altitudinal confinement, steep slope convective chimney acceleration, and acute bimodal burning seasonality.

Data Ingestion: NASA FIRMS 2025 ArchiveTopography: Copernicus GLO-30 DEM (30m)Boundary: Survey of India (SOI) VerifiedDetections: 7,541 Observations
Observational Unit Definition: All 7,541 records represent radiometric satellite pixel hotspot detections (thermal anomalies) captured by NASA MODIS (Terra & Aqua) and VIIRS (Suomi-NPP) instruments. They do not constitute discrete wildfire incident perimeters, as a single severe fire can produce multiple contiguous pixel detections across consecutive overpasses.
Total Verified Observations
7,541
100% Boundary Validated (SOI)
VIIRS Suomi-NPP (375m nadir)
6,623
87.83% of total · 7.21× observation density
MODIS Terra & Aqua (1km nadir)
918
12.17% of total · Mean FRP 15.27 MW
Peak Radiative Power (FRP)
169.9 MW
Terra MODIS (Feb 11, 2025 · 30.38°N, 79.43°E)
Figure 1.0 // Chronological Frequency Distribution

Monthly Thermal Observation Frequency (Complete 2025 Empirical Series)

Showing acute pre-monsoon burning peak in April (2,255 observations) and secondary winter post-monsoon clearing in December (1,678 observations).

April Peak: 2,255 (29.90%)
Jan: 666 (8.83%)
VIIRS: 574 · MODIS: 92
Peak FRP: 74.3 MW
666
Jan
Feb: 848 (11.25%)
VIIRS: 730 · MODIS: 118
Peak FRP: 169.9 MW
848
Feb
Mar: 467 (6.19%)
VIIRS: 409 · MODIS: 58
Peak FRP: 70.1 MW
467
Mar
Apr: 2,255 (29.9%)
VIIRS: 2001 · MODIS: 254
Peak FRP: 136.6 MW
2255
Apr
May: 628 (8.33%)
VIIRS: 556 · MODIS: 72
Peak FRP: 55.4 MW
628
May
Jun: 123 (1.63%)
VIIRS: 109 · MODIS: 14
Peak FRP: 35.2 MW
123
Jun
Jul: 5 (0.07%)
VIIRS: 5 · MODIS: 0
Peak FRP: 4.8 MW
5
Jul
Aug: 1 (0.01%)
VIIRS: 1 · MODIS: 0
Peak FRP: 2.1 MW
1
Aug
Sep: 3 (0.04%)
VIIRS: 3 · MODIS: 0
Peak FRP: 3.5 MW
3
Sep
Oct: 443 (5.87%)
VIIRS: 397 · MODIS: 46
Peak FRP: 48.7 MW
443
Oct
Nov: 424 (5.62%)
VIIRS: 382 · MODIS: 42
Peak FRP: 41 MW
424
Nov
Dec: 1,678 (22.25%)
VIIRS: 1456 · MODIS: 222
Peak FRP: 88.5 MW
1678
Dec
Primary Annual Peak (April: 2,255)Major Monthly Volume (> 1,000)Baseline Months
Annual Total: 7,541 Observations
Orbital Radiometry Telemetry

Diurnal Pass Breakdown (Day vs Night)

Satellite thermal anomalies captured during daytime overpasses vs nighttime cool-background passes.

Daytime Passes (Terra AM & Aqua/VIIRS PM Ascending)4,911 (65.12%)
Nighttime Passes (Cool Ground High-Contrast Detection)2,630 (34.88%)
Data Quality & Peer Verification

Scientific Provenance & Data Pipeline Standards

Every statistic shown is deterministically calculated from official NASA FIRMS archives and Copernicus DEM mosaics.

  • 0% data fabrication: raw FIRMS CSV records preserved unmodified
  • 2,174 master grid cells aligned at 0.05° horizontal resolution
  • Copernicus GLO-30 DEM 30m vertical relief mosaic (EGM2008 geoid)
  • Sensors: Suomi-NPP VIIRS (6,623) · Terra MODIS (234) · Aqua MODIS (684)