Análisis Unificado de Riesgos y Observación Remota para la Reducción de Incendios y Amenazas

Project overview: 
AURORA addresses a growing need across Macaronesia: improving the prevention and management of wildfire risk in a changing climate. Rather than focusing on fire detection, AURORA is built around anticipation.

The project is developing an advanced technological platform that generates predictive wildfire risk maps adapted to the specific conditions of the Macaronesian archipelagos. It integrates meteorological variables, topographic parameters and biophysical information derived from Earth Observation satellite data to estimate vegetation flammability and condition, combining these with historical fire records to train artificial intelligence models capable of identifying patterns, correlations and critical scenarios.

The resulting daily risk maps and early-warning alerts are designed to support preventive planning and decision-making by public administrations, emergency services and organisations involved in environmental management.

Aligned with Specific Objective 1.1 of the Interreg MAC Programme, AURORA consolidates a shared technological ecosystem that strengthens collaboration between universities, research centres and the technology sector across the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cabo Verde, with a clear orientation towards technology transfer and the future valorisation of its results.

AIR Centre's main contributions: 

The AIR Centre contributes to AURORA through its Space Systems and Applications Group. Its work focuses on:

• Satellite data processing — multispectral, hyperspectral and radar

• Generation of biophysical indicators relevant to wildfire risk

• Multi-source data integration

• Development of operational prototypes for risk anticipation

The AIR Centre also contributes to the development of the platform’s visualisation interface and to the validation of the system with users and authorities in the Azores.