Wildfire in South Africa
Recorded by satellite 42 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 34 recorded within 20 km of this point since 16 June 2026 — 7 others scored the same. The last comparable one was on 19 July 2026. 8 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 102 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 706 MW, at nominal confidence, 63 km from Praktiseer.
The 102 pixels cover about 14.3 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.
Nearby, since 16 June 2026
- July 24, 2026 · score 50 · 5.4 km
- July 12, 2026 · score 27 · 9.8 km
- July 19, 2026 · score 50 · 10.2 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 | -24.8975, 29.8090 |
| Nearest City | Praktiseer (63 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-07-20T11:28:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@29.809,-24.898,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 354.73 |
| Frp | 706.13 |
| PixelCount | 102 |
| Confidence | nominal |
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.