Calamity
highWildfireCalamity Score: 30

Wildfire in Zambia

ZambeziZambiaNASA FIRMS (VIIRS)

Recorded by satellite 84 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 37th strongest of the 65 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 16 May 2026. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day. 20 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.

What the source measured

NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 22 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 206 MW, at high confidence, 35 km from Zambezi.

The 22 pixels cover about 3.1 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 346 people live within 35 km of this point.

Nearby, since 16 May 2026

How we know

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

Our own score for this event is 30 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)30 / 100
Our confidence74%
Coordinates-13.6917, 22.8210
Nearest CityZambezi (35 km)
Population Exposed346 within 35 km
Impact Tierminor
Timestamp2026-06-08T12:57:00.000Z
Sourcehttps://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@22.821,-13.692,9z

Score Breakdown

60
intensity
10
population
0
cascading
30
historical

Technical Details

Brightness367
Frp205.68
PixelCount22
Confidencehigh

Cascade Risks

air quality emergency

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 30/100 (Zambia), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 188 scientific monitoring sources.