Recorded by satellite today.
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 3rd strongest of the 30 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 19 June 2026. The last comparable one was on 29 August 2026.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 77 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 617 MW, at nominal confidence, 36 km from Nakonde.
The 77 pixels cover about 10.8 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.
An estimated 88,225 people live within 50 km of this point.
Nearby, since 19 June 2026
- July 30, 2026 · score 44 · 9.3 km
- August 29, 2026 · score 48 · 10.4 km
- August 4, 2026 · score 27 · 10.7 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 53 out of 100, at 74 % 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) | 53 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 74% |
| Coordinates | -9.1303, 32.4884 |
| Nearest City | Nakonde (36 km) |
| Population Exposed | 88.2K within 50 km |
| Impact Tier | severe |
| Timestamp | 2026-08-30T11:08:00.000Z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 354.09 |
| Frp | 617.43 |
| PixelCount | 77 |
| Confidence | nominal |
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 53/100, near Nakonde (Zambia), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 194 scientific monitoring sources.