Calamity
highWildfireCalamity Score: 27

Wildfire near Mwene-Ditu

DR CongoNASA FIRMS (VIIRS)

Recorded by satellite 107 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 19th strongest of the 37 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 12 March 2026. The last comparable one was on 15 March 2026.

What the source measured

NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 42 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 248 MW, at nominal confidence, 84 km from Mwene-Ditu.

The 42 pixels cover about 5.9 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 12 March 2026

How we know

One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.

Our own score for this event is 27 out of 100, at 54 % confidence.

The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.

Event Data

TypeWildfire
Severityhigh
Calamity Score (ours)27 / 100
Our confidence54%
Coordinates-6.7190, 22.7520
Nearest CityMwene-Ditu (84 km)
Impact Tierminor
Timestamp2026-05-15T12:08:00.000Z

Score Breakdown

60
intensity
0
population
0
cascading
30
historical

Technical Details

Brightness352.54
Frp247.88
PixelCount42
Confidencenominal

Cascade Risks

air quality emergency

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.

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Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 27/100, near Mwene-Ditu (DR Congo), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 194 scientific monitoring sources.