How often is FIRMS updated?

[Earthdata - wxedward]

How often is FIRMS updated?

FIRMS is updated regularly as new data are ingested, however it is important to note that the data are derived from instruments onboard polar orbiting satellites (MODIS aboard Terra and Aqua and VIIRS aboard Suomi NPP and NOAA-20), and generally these have 2 overpasses a day (more towards the poles - see How often are the active fire data acquired?). FIRMS makes the NRT data available within 3 hours of a satellite observation (on a best effort basis), the RT data are available within 30 minutes of overpass and the URT within 5 minutes. See also What time does the satellite pass over my area?


FIRMS Fire maps are updated every 5 minutes, and the SHP, KML and CSV files (available for the last 24, 48 and 7 days) are updated every 60 minutes. The first place data are posted is on the updated daily fires text files which can be accessed via HTTPS: https://nrt3.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/archive/FIRMS. ​​As explained here (https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/active_fire/) you will need an Earthdata login to download data from this folder. FIRMS web services are generated on the fly and use the most recently processed data.