Recorded by satellite 75 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 72 recorded within 20 km of this point since 15 May 2026 — 8 others scored the same. The last comparable one was on 16 June 2026. 5 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 57 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 514 MW, at high confidence, 131 km from Bandundu Province.
The 57 pixels cover about 8.0 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 WNW at 8 km/h at 12:00 UTC, according to MET Norway.
Nearby, since 15 May 2026
- July 1, 2026 · score 46 · 1.8 km
- May 26, 2026 · score 50 · 7.9 km
- July 4, 2026 · score 46 · 8.3 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 54 out of 100, at 48 % 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) | 54 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 48% |
| Coordinates | -4.2883, 16.7008 |
| Nearest City | Bandundu Province (131 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Date | 2026-06-18 — time not reported by the source |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@16.701,-4.288,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 513.77 |
| PixelCount | 57 |
| 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 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 54/100 (DR Congo), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 185 scientific monitoring sources.