Recorded by satellite 52 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 2nd strongest of the 74 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 8 May 2026. The last comparable one was on 9 July 2026. 11 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 131 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 1128 MW, at high confidence, 72 km from Dungu.
The 131 pixels cover about 18.3 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.
Wind from W at 9 km/h at 11:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
Nearby, since 8 May 2026
- July 17, 2026 · score 36 · 3.7 km
- May 26, 2026 · score 27 · 6.3 km
- August 4, 2026 · score 40 · 9.4 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 46 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.
Under rules v1–v3, Critical for a wildfire measured only the radiative power the satellite saw, not the people near it; since v4 (1 September 2026) it also requires exposed population. This page keeps the word it was published with.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfires |
| Severity | Critical |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 46 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 54% |
| Coordinates | -3.6076, 18.2036 |
| Nearest City | Dungu (72 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-07-11T12:42:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@18.204,-3.608,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 1127.7 |
| PixelCount | 131 |
| 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 46/100 (DR Congo), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.