Persistent heat source 268 km from Al Burayqah, Libya
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 3 minutes ago, and this point is not in it. We record detections, not passes: an absence is not proof that nothing is there.
4 other detections within 20 km in the last 24 hours, the nearest <1 km from here.
The satellite has seen heat at this spot on 39 earlier days since 15 March 2026, in 6 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.
104 satellite detections of this fire · 30 September – 22 October 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Oct 23:50 | 123 MW | 268 km |
| 22 Oct 12:21 | 179 MW | 269 km |
| 22 Oct 11:25 | 157 MW | 269 km |
| 22 Oct 01:05 | 133 MW | 269 km |
| 22 Oct 00:09 | 110 MW | 270 km |
| 21 Oct 12:42 | 174 MW | 268 km |
| 21 Oct 11:45 | 118 MW | 268 km |
| 20 Oct 12:04 | 225 MW | 252 km |
| 20 Oct 11:19 | 186 MW | 250 km |
| 20 Oct 00:48 | 162 MW | 250 km |
| 19 Oct 12:21 | 387 MW | 256 km |
| 19 Oct 11:38 | 351 MW | 257 km |
| 19 Oct 01:05 | 320 MW | 257 km |
| 19 Oct 00:22 | 305 MW | 257 km |
| 18 Oct 23:26 | 275 MW | 258 km |
| 18 Oct 12:42 | 349 MW | 255 km |
| 18 Oct 12:42 | 178 MW | 256 km |
| 18 Oct 11:57 | 122 MW | 254 km |
| 18 Oct 11:57 | 338 MW | 256 km |
| 18 Oct 11:00 | 309 MW | 256 km |
| 18 Oct 01:26 | 247 MW | 254 km |
| 18 Oct 00:41 | 198 MW | 255 km |
| 17 Oct 23:44 | 171 MW | 255 km |
| 17 Oct 12:17 | 199 MW | 255 km |
| 17 Oct 11:19 | 158 MW | 255 km |
| 17 Oct 01:00 | 105 MW | 255 km |
| 16 Oct 11:38 | 204 MW | 256 km |
| 16 Oct 01:17 | 157 MW | 256 km |
| 16 Oct 01:17 | 94 MW | 257 km |
| 15 Oct 12:55 | 228 MW | 256 km |
and 74 earlier detections
Recorded by satellite 29 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 194 recorded within 20 km of this point since 15 March 2026 — 157 others scored the same. The last comparable one was on 26 September 2026. 51 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 17 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 120 MW, at high confidence, 268 km from Al Burayqah.
The 17 pixels cover about 2.4 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 · 0.4 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.
Archived as “High” under the rule in force until 4 October 2026, which read the radiative power and the people nearby. A satellite sees heat, not an emergency: since then every detection is shown as low or medium; this one as “Low”.
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 | 0.54/1 |
| Coordinates | 28.0140, 19.9077 |
| Nearest city | Al Burayqah (268 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 0 within 20 km |
| Impact tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-28T11:32:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@19.908,28.014,9z |
| 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: 2026-09-28T11:32:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-08-11T13:31:56.337Z. Material modification: 2026-10-22T14:43:29.425Z.
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 | 367 |
| Frp | 119.82 |
| PixelCount | 17 |
| Confidence | high |
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