Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for Barranquilla, Colombia, 2000-2022

This dataset is part of the ESCALA (Study of Urban Health and Climate Change in Informal Settlements in Latin America) project that was funded by the Lacuna Fund of the Meridian Institute https://lacunafund.org/.

NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) is an indicator of vegetation health, which is calculated from the reflectance of red and infrared light from the earth's surface. This variable is represented by raster layers and has a range of values from -1 to 1 where higher values represent denser, healthier vegetation.

The dataset consists of 270 raster images where each pixel (30 m spatial
resolution) has a NDVI value for a specific date.

The data were derived from Landsat imagery available in Google Earth Engine.

Satellite imagery was processed in Google Earth Engine as follows. Images from the Landsat 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 collections were selected for the period of interest (2000-01-01 to 2022-12-31) with a maximum cloud cover of 20%. For each image, reflectance values were calculated using scaling parameters from the product guide and a cloud and shadow mask was applied. NDVI was then calculated from the Red and NIR bands and cropped to the urban perimeter area.