VIIRS Nightfire Version 4.0 Now Operational Across Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21 satellites

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Earth Observation Director Christopher Elvidge, and Morgan Bazilian write about the new version of VIIRS Nightfire (VNF) 4.0 and how it significant improvements in 5 areas. As of July 1, 2025, the new version of the VIIRS Nightfire (VNF) algorithm Version 4.0 is available for all three VIIRS satellites: Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21. This release marks a significant advance in nighttime thermal anomaly detection and characterization, offering researchers and practitioners enhanced capabilities across a wide range of applications, from wildfire monitoring to industrial flaring assessment. July 2, 2025.