Calamity
highWildfireCalamity Score: 39

Wildfire near Mpongwe

ZambiaNASA FIRMS (VIIRS)

Recorded by satellite 69 days ago.

A thermal anomaly is a snapshot of one satellite pass, not a record of a fire’s life: we cannot say whether it kept burning after that pass.

It is the 38th strongest of the 54 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 11 June 2026. The last comparable one was on 21 June 2026. 4 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.

What the source measured

NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 38 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 411 MW, at high confidence, 32 km from Mpongwe.

The 38 pixels cover about 5.3 km² — that is the footprint of the detection grid at 375 m resolution, not an estimate of how much land burned.

FIRMS does not report burned area, and neither do we.

An estimated 11,835 people live within 35 km of this point.

Nearby, since 11 June 2026

How we know

One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.

Our own score for this event is 39 out of 100, at 74 % confidence.

The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.

Event Data

TypeWildfire
Severityhigh
Calamity Score (ours)39 / 100
Our confidence74%
Coordinates-13.2266, 28.1257
Nearest CityMpongwe (32 km)
Population Exposed11.8K within 35 km
Impact Tiersignificant
Timestamp2026-06-22T11:55:00.000Z

Score Breakdown

60
intensity
40
population
0
cascading
30
historical

Technical Details

Brightness367
Frp410.63
PixelCount38
Confidencehigh

Safety Information

If a wildfire is approaching: follow evacuation orders immediately. Do not wait to see the fire. Close all windows and doors, remove combustible materials from around your home, and have an emergency go-bag ready. Air quality can deteriorate rapidly even at distance from the fire front — monitor local air quality advisories.

Series begins 10 February 2026. Comparisons refer to that period only. Collection gap: 14-26 August 2026.

This data is aggregated algorithmically from scientific sources. Not a replacement for official emergency warnings.

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Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 39/100, near Mpongwe (Zambia), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 191 scientific monitoring sources.