Persistent heat source 268 km from Al Burayqah, Libya
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 21 minutes ago, and this point is not in it. We record detections, not passes: an absence is not proof that nothing is there.
7 other detections within 20 km in the last 24 hours, the nearest 3 km from here.
The satellite has seen heat at this spot on 40 earlier days since 15 March 2026, in 7 of the twelve months of the year. Heat that is there in every season usually comes from industry (a steelworks, a refinery flare, a gas field) or from routine burning, not from a wildfire. NASA's data do not say which.
41 satellite detections of this fire · 23 October – 3 November 2026
A satellite sees a burning fire on each of its passes. This page gathers every detection of this fire; the address of each one leads here.
| Day and time (UTC) | Radiative power | Distance from the town |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Nov 12:42 | 280 MW | 255 km |
| 3 Nov 11:57 | 260 MW | 257 km |
| 3 Nov 11:00 | 235 MW | 257 km |
| 3 Nov 01:24 | 189 MW | 257 km |
| 3 Nov 00:43 | 126 MW | 257 km |
| 2 Nov 23:43 | 109 MW | 257 km |
| 2 Nov 11:19 | 128 MW | 258 km |
| 2 Nov 01:00 | 104 MW | 255 km |
| 31 Oct 11:57 | 132 MW | 251 km |
| 31 Oct 00:39 | 127 MW | 252 km |
| 30 Oct 12:17 | 118 MW | 253 km |
| 30 Oct 12:17 | 280 MW | 257 km |
| 30 Oct 11:32 | 254 MW | 257 km |
| 30 Oct 01:00 | 217 MW | 257 km |
| 30 Oct 01:00 | 207 MW | 259 km |
| 30 Oct 00:16 | 205 MW | 256 km |
| 29 Oct 12:34 | 338 MW | 256 km |
| 29 Oct 12:34 | 134 MW | 268 km |
| 29 Oct 11:51 | 310 MW | 255 km |
| 29 Oct 11:49 | 74 MW | 260 km |
| 29 Oct 10:53 | 289 MW | 254 km |
| 29 Oct 01:17 | 233 MW | 253 km |
| 29 Oct 01:17 | 117 MW | 269 km |
| 29 Oct 00:37 | 183 MW | 254 km |
| 28 Oct 23:37 | 159 MW | 257 km |
| 28 Oct 12:10 | 194 MW | 259 km |
| 28 Oct 11:15 | 174 MW | 258 km |
| 28 Oct 11:15 | 152 MW | 260 km |
| 27 Oct 23:58 | 122 MW | 260 km |
| 27 Oct 12:27 | 199 MW | 256 km |
and 11 earlier detections
Recorded by satellite 11 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 228 recorded within 20 km of this point since 15 March 2026 — 184 others scored the same. The last comparable one was on 22 October 2026. 61 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 19 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 136 MW, at nominal confidence, 268 km from Al Burayqah.
The 19 pixels cover about 2.7 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 15 March 2026
- October 24, 2026 · score 27 · 0.3 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 27 out of 100.
This is our versioned heuristic index, not source severity or a calibrated probability. Urban PEI does not count unique people.
Computed under scoring rules v5. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
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.
Event data
| Type | Persistent heat source |
| Severity | Low |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 27 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.38/1 |
| Coordinates | 28.0144, 19.9075 |
| Nearest city | Al Burayqah (268 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 0 within 20 km |
| Impact tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-10-23T11:06:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@19.907,28.014,9z |
| Licence | US public domain (NASA) · NASA FIRMS (LANCE) |
Physical priority index · v5. Heuristic priority, not calibrated probability, predictive accuracy or damage. The legacy data-support index combines assigned source support and field availability. Urban PEI is distance-weighted and does not count unique people; zero does not establish that nobody is present. Model cards.
Source and revision timeline
Source: firms. Occurrence: 2026-10-23T11:06:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-07-06T13:11:30.694Z. Material modification: 2026-11-03T14:31:40.734Z.
Retained revisions are prospective; earlier versions may be unavailable. No revision entry does not prove that a record never changed.
Score breakdown
Technical details
| Brightness | 352.5 |
| Frp | 136.24 |
| PixelCount | 19 |
| Confidence | nominal |
Safety information
Heat shows up at this spot regularly, which usually means an industrial plant or routine burning rather than a wildfire. Nothing on this page is an alert. In a real emergency, follow local authorities.
Review the area, threshold and delivery channel in your account.
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.
No news is listed: GDELT was not available when this page was rendered.
GDELT Project · gdeltproject.org