Early Fire Detection with Higher Sensitivity and Timeliness: Porting the RST-FIRES Algorithm to Rapid Scan Geostationary Data

In this work, the portability of the Robust Satellite Techniques for FIRES detection and monitoring (RST-FIRES) has been preliminary experimented on the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) aboard the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellite in Rapid Scan Service (RSS) mode. Such a configuration offers 5 min of revisit time as compared with 15 min in the standard mode (0-degree). The impact in early fire detection has been assessed and quantified, also in comparison with the results of the RST-FIRES implemented on MSG/SEVIRI 0-degree data, using the official fire bulletins of the Calabria Region (Southern Italy) for the events occurred during July 2022, for which the official regional fire catalogue was available. The results obtained suggest that SEVIRI-RSS data could allow for a rather systematic earlier detection and a better sensitivity than SEVIRI 0-degree because of the improved temporal (and spatial) resolutions. These findings are remarkable in view of the next implementation of RST-FIRES on Meteosat Third Generation/Flexible Combined Imager (MTG/FCI) data, to exploit the improved spatial (2–1 km) and temporal (10–2.5 min) resolutions offered by such a new-generation geostationary mission, together with a more suitable dynamic range in the MIR spectral region (saturation at ~500 K @3.8 micron). The use of synthetic background reference fields would allow, in fact, for a straightforward RST-FIRES application to MTGI/FCI data allowing for a more effective fire early warning system.