Persistent heat source near Secunda, South Africa
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 5 minutes ago, and this point is not in it. We record detections, not passes: an absence is not proof that nothing is there.
2 other detections within 20 km in the last 24 hours, the nearest <1 km from here.
The satellite has seen heat at this spot on 48 earlier days since 9 March 2026, in 7 of the twelve months of the year. Heat that is there in every season usually comes from industry (a steelworks, a refinery flare, a gas field) or from routine burning, not from a wildfire. NASA's data do not say which.
21 satellite detections of this fire · 17 – 26 October 2026
A satellite sees a burning fire on each of its passes. This page gathers every detection of this fire; the address of each one leads here.
| Day and time (UTC) | Radiative power | Distance from Secunda |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Oct 12:32 | 191 MW | 1 km |
| 25 Oct 23:09 | 150 MW | 0 km |
| 25 Oct 23:09 | 189 MW | 0 km |
| 25 Oct 12:51 | 306 MW | 1 km |
| 25 Oct 12:51 | 184 MW | 1 km |
| 25 Oct 11:10 | 142 MW | 1 km |
| 24 Oct 23:29 | 122 MW | 1 km |
| 24 Oct 12:14 | 188 MW | 1 km |
| 24 Oct 11:30 | 151 MW | 1 km |
| 23 Oct 12:32 | 172 MW | 1 km |
| 23 Oct 00:07 | 103 MW | 1 km |
| 22 Oct 23:22 | 83 MW | 1 km |
| 22 Oct 12:08 | 147 MW | 1 km |
| 21 Oct 12:25 | 501 MW | 1 km |
| 21 Oct 11:28 | 458 MW | 1 km |
| 20 Oct 22:20 | 422 MW | 1 km |
| 20 Oct 12:44 | 388 MW | 1 km |
| 18 Oct 23:39 | 505 MW | 1 km |
| 18 Oct 12:25 | 451 MW | 1 km |
| 18 Oct 11:42 | 265 MW | 1 km |
| 17 Oct 22:20 | 289 MW | 1 km |
This page covers the record dated 17 October 2026. Browse recent observations in this area:
Recorded by satellite 9 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 9th strongest of the 76 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 9 March 2026. The last comparable one was on 16 October 2026. 17 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 19 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 289 MW, at high confidence, 1 km from Secunda.
The 19 pixels cover about 2.7 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.
Urban PEI: 129,940 within a heuristic 20 km radius; not unique people.
Nearby, since 9 March 2026
- August 28, 2026 · 0.3 km
- October 3, 2026 · score 39 · 0.3 km
- October 4, 2026 · score 48 · 0.3 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 48 out of 100.
This is our versioned heuristic index, not source severity or a calibrated probability. Urban PEI does not count unique people.
Computed under scoring rules v5. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
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.
Event data
| Type | Persistent heat source |
| Severity | Low |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 48 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.74/1 |
| Coordinates | -26.5453, 29.1582 |
| Nearest city | Secunda (1 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 129.9K within 20 km |
| Impact tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-10-17T22:20:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@29.158,-26.545,9z |
| Licence | US public domain (NASA) · NASA FIRMS (LANCE) |
Physical priority index · v5. Heuristic priority, not calibrated probability, predictive accuracy or damage. The legacy data-support index combines assigned source support and field availability. Urban PEI is distance-weighted and does not count unique people; zero does not establish that nobody is present. Model cards.
Source and revision timeline
Source: firms. Occurrence: 2026-10-17T22:20:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-07-29T14:28:41.750Z. Material modification: 2026-10-26T15:02:10.650Z.
Retained revisions are prospective; earlier versions may be unavailable. No revision entry does not prove that a record never changed.
Score breakdown
Technical details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 288.93 |
| PixelCount | 19 |
| Confidence | high |
Safety information
Heat shows up at this spot regularly, which usually means an industrial plant or routine burning rather than a wildfire. Nothing on this page is an alert. In a real emergency, follow local authorities.
Review the area, threshold and delivery channel in your account.
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.
No news is listed: GDELT was not available when this page was rendered.
GDELT Project · gdeltproject.org