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.
It is the 35th strongest of the 81 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 1 June 2026. The last comparable one was on 1 June 2026. One more was recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 29 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 201 MW, at nominal confidence, 57 km from Nchelenge.
The 29 pixels cover about 4.1 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 1 June 2026
- August 8, 2026 · score 41 · 7.0 km
- July 27, 2026 · score 50 · 10.1 km
- July 15, 2026 · score 36 · 13.8 km
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 38 % confidence.
The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.
Event Data
| Type | Wildfire |
| Severity | high |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 27 / 100 |
| Our confidence | 38% |
| Coordinates | -9.5975, 28.2703 |
| Nearest City | Nchelenge (57 km) |
| Impact Tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-06-18T11:30:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@28.270,-9.598,9z |
Score Breakdown
Technical Details
| Brightness | 353.5 |
| Frp | 201.35 |
| PixelCount | 29 |
| 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.
Want to know when something happens near Nchelenge?
Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 27/100 (Zambia), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 188 scientific monitoring sources.