# Generated by scripts/sync_indices.py from Awesome Spectral Indices (MIT).
# DO NOT EDIT BY HAND. Edit overlays (_asi_*.yaml, _folia_*.yaml) and re-run.
# Spec: docs/spec/SPECTRAL_INDICES.md
slug: bai
name: Burned Area Index
short_name: BAI
formula: 1.0 / ((0.1 - R) ** 2.0 + (0.06 - N) ** 2.0)
bands:
- R
- N
domain: burn
theme: hazards
concepts:
- fire
rank: 13
display:
  colormap: hot
  range:
  - 0.0
  - 5.0
  reverse: true
pedagogy:
  description: 'Burned Area Index (Chuvieco 2002). Computes the spectral distance

    from each pixel to a reference charcoal point in red-NIR space.

    High values indicate proximity to the charred reference signature;

    complementary to NBR for active-fire and recent-burn detection.

    '
  use_cases:
  - Active-fire and very-recent-burn detection at moderate resolution
  - Mediterranean and dry-forest fire-perimeter mapping
  - Complement to NBR for short-window post-fire mapping before NBR's SWIR signal is masked by smoke
  limitations:
  - Reference point (0.1 red, 0.06 NIR) is empirical and may need re-tuning per sensor
  - Saturates quickly over very dark burns — use BAIS2 on Sentinel-2 instead
  - Not normalized — absolute values vary across sensors and atmospheric conditions
  interpretation:
    high: Recently burned, charred surface
    mid: Mixed burn, sparse vegetation
    low: Healthy vegetation or distinct land cover
  authoritative_sources:
  - label: Martín & Chuvieco 1998
    url: https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/6426/1/Martin_Isabel_Serie_Geografica.pdf
  - label: NV5 ENVI — Burn Indices
    url: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/BurnIndices.html
  - label: Index Database · BAI
    url: https://www.indexdatabase.de/db/i-single.php?id=132
references:
- url: https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/6426/1/Martin_Isabel_Serie_Geografica.pdf
date_of_addition: '2021-04-07'
contributor: https://github.com/davemlz
platforms:
- Sentinel-2
- Landsat-OLI
- Landsat-TM
- Landsat-ETM+
- MODIS
- Planet-Fusion
source:
  authority: awesome-spectral-indices
  commit_sha: 7f28d3fe68af1287f7449faf0685659e73197212
  upstream_id: BAI
match_tags:
- area
- burn
- burned
- index
- n
- r
status: stable