When wildfires hit Alberta earlier this month, leaving more than 10,000 square kilometres of land scorched so far this year, João Lopes was worried about how much more devastation could be on its way.
A United Nations report from 2022 found wildfires are becoming"more intense and more frequent" and said with temperatures on the rise as global warming worsens,"the need to reduce wildfire risk is more critical than ever." Help could come in the form of technology aimed at making wildfire prevention, containment and fighting easier, more accurate and less costly, he and others believe.
SensaioTech's approach is a departure from the historical data and satellites Lopes said are frequently used to predict and thwart the spread of wildfires. While both can be helpful, he said sensor data tends to be more current and precise. The initiative from the Canadian Space Agency, Canadian Forest Service, Canadian Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation and Environment and Climate Change Canada is scheduled to launch in 2029.
OroraTech pulls data from more than 20 satellites and algorithms that can estimate a fire's size and location, map the burn area and estimate its severity, sending alerts to devices as soon as a problem or change in conditions is detected.