Three Satellites Confirm Malaysia Pipeline Explosion: VNF Thermal Detections Corroborate Major Industrial Fire Near Kuala Lumpur

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin writes about how on April 1, 2025, a significant gas pipeline explosion occurred in Putra Heights, a suburb of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, resulting in a massive fireball that injured at least 145 individuals, including three children.  Satellite-based thermal anomaly detection systems, such as the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Nightfire (VNF), are instrumental in identifying and monitoring such incidents.  April 2, 2025.