Wildfire in South Africa
Recorded by satellite 24 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 strongest of the 13 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 5 June 2026. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day. 8 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 65 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 867 MW, at high confidence, 64 km from Giyani.
The 65 pixels cover about 9.1 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.
Nearby, since 5 June 2026
- August 26, 2026 · score 27 · 12.2 km
- August 1, 2026 · score 27 · 19.3 km
- August 2, 2026 · score 27 · 20.9 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 50 out of 100, at 64 % confidence.
The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfire |
| Severity | critical |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 50 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 64% |
| Coordinates | -23.2750, 31.3468 |
| Nearest City | Giyani (64 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-08-07T12:32:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@31.347,-23.275,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 866.77 |
| PixelCount | 65 |
| Confidence | high |
Cascade Risks
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.
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 50/100 (South Africa), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 188 scientific monitoring sources.