Early Warning System for forest fires in Mexico

Since 1999, The National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) contributes to combating Forest Fires in Mexico and Central America, by means of CONABIO ́s program for hot spot detection using remote sensing techniques. Currently the program is using Terra/Aqua-MODIS satellite images between six and eight times a day to detect hot spots which might be considered as possible source of forest fires. In the framework of the mentioned programme the project "System for early-warning , monitoring and impact of forest fires" was established. The system consists of three components associated with the stages of risk management: before (early warning), during (hot spot monitoring) and after (burnt areas identification). This paper will focus on the progress of the development of the individual components using TRMM (Tropical Rain Fall Measuring Mission), MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer), and AWiFS (Advanced Wide Field Sensor) satellite data as a primary input.