VIIRS issues 37 fire alerts in 8 days
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 20 2025: The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) issued 37 fire alerts across the State over eight days, starting April 12.Of these, 5.4 per cent suggested a strong possibility of wildfires (high confidence alert) .

According to reports, the VIIRS issued 851 fire alerts this year, which is normal compared to previous years.

In contrast, it issued 1,267 fire alerts in 2014 .

The satellite instrument reportedly issued 13,278 fire alerts from April 19, 2021, to April 14, 2025 .

(VIIRS) is a satellite instrument that collects visible and infrared imagery of Earth's land, atmosphere and oceans.

VIIRS issues 37 fire alerts in 8 days

According to a Global Forest Watch (GWF) report, Tamenglong district reported the highest number of fire alerts pertaining to wildfires in Manipur, with 66 alerts in the past two months, accounting for 26 per cent of the State's total fire alerts.

The figure is significantly higher compared to reports published in 2012 .

Moreover, VIIRS issued 11 fire alerts in Tamenglong from April 13 to 20, with 9.1 per cent being high confidence alerts.

After Tamenglong, Imphal East reported the maximum number of fire alerts.

In Manipur, most instances of wildfires occurred between early February and late April.

Meanwhile, according to the GFW report, Manipur lost 1.78 kilo hectares of forest land to wildfires from 2001 to 2023.Additionally, Manipur's forest land loss due to other reasons totalled 238 kilo hectares.

Manipur lost 184 hectares of forest land (0.88 per cent of total forest areas in the State) in 2014 alone.

Among the districts, Senapati lost the largest area of forest land between 2001 and 2023, with an average annual loss of 21 hectares as per the report.

Following Senapati, Churachandpur and Ukhrul districts (16 hectares) reported significant forest land loss, ranking among the highest in the State.

Chandel and Tamenglong, on the other hand, reported average annual forest land losses of 13 hectares and 7 hectares, respectively.

According to Indian State of Forest Report 2023, Manipur is categorised as highly prone to wildfires among other North Eastern States such as Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya.