Recorded by satellite 46 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.
No stronger detection stands among the 20 recorded within 20 km of this point since 12 July 2026 — 11 others scored the same. The last comparable one was on 16 July 2026. 4 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 44 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 331 MW, at high confidence, 63 km from Gweru.
The 44 pixels cover about 6.2 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.
Wind from ESE at 21 km/h at 18:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
Nearby, since 12 July 2026
- August 11, 2026 · score 27 · 10.5 km
- August 6, 2026 · score 27 · 10.6 km
- August 4, 2026 · score 27 · 13.3 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 27 out of 100, at 54 % confidence.
The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.
Wind: MET Norway Locationforecast, CC BY 4.0.
Computed under scoring rules v1. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfires |
| Severity | High |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 27 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 54% |
| Coordinates | -19.7546, 29.3160 |
| Nearest City | Gweru (63 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-07-18T12:06:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@29.316,-19.755,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 331.18 |
| PixelCount | 44 |
| Confidence | high |
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 8 March 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.
Want to know when something happens in this area?
In the news nearby
A list of links found by GDELT for this place and this hazard in the last seven days. External, not ours: we have not read them and do not vouch for them.
GDELT did not answer when this page was rendered, so no news is listed.
GDELT Project · gdeltproject.org
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 27/100 (Zimbabwe), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.