Persistent heat source near 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.
3 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 46 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.
16 satellite detections of this fire · 9 – 18 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 Al Burayqah |
|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct 01:24 | 75 MW | 3 km |
| 18 Oct 01:24 | 48 MW | 3 km |
| 18 Oct 00:39 | 51 MW | 3 km |
| 16 Oct 01:17 | 176 MW | 3 km |
| 16 Oct 01:17 | 119 MW | 2 km |
| 15 Oct 00:39 | 48 MW | 2 km |
| 14 Oct 23:56 | 27 MW | 2 km |
| 12 Oct 11:15 | 207 MW | 4 km |
| 12 Oct 00:52 | 181 MW | 4 km |
| 11 Oct 23:56 | 170 MW | 4 km |
| 11 Oct 11:32 | 165 MW | 4 km |
| 11 Oct 01:11 | 222 MW | 3 km |
| 11 Oct 00:16 | 215 MW | 3 km |
| 10 Oct 11:51 | 397 MW | 3 km |
| 10 Oct 11:08 | 390 MW | 3 km |
| 9 Oct 00:52 | 144 MW | 3 km |
This page covers the record dated 16 October 2026. Browse recent observations in this area:
Recorded by satellite 2 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 50 recorded within 20 km of this point since 15 March 2026 — 12 others scored the same. The last comparable one was on 15 October 2026. 30 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 32 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 176 MW, at high confidence, 3 km from Al Burayqah.
The 32 pixels cover about 4.5 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.
Urban PEI: 28,973 within a heuristic 35 km radius; not unique people.
Nearby, since 15 March 2026
- October 15, 2026 · score 39 · 0.1 km
- September 11, 2026 · 0.3 km
- October 6, 2026 · score 30 · 0.6 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 39 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) | 39 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.74/1 |
| Coordinates | 30.4060, 19.5967 |
| Nearest city | Al Burayqah (3 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 29.0K within 35 km |
| Impact tier | minor |
| Timestamp | 2026-10-16T01:17:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@19.597,30.406,9z |
| 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: 2026-10-16T01:17:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-05-13T00:00:25.936Z. Material modification: 2026-10-16T11:34:57.661Z.
Retained revisions are prospective; earlier versions may be unavailable. No revision entry does not prove that a record never changed.
2026-10-16T11:34:57.661Z · data change
Index 30 → 39.
Score breakdown
Technical details
| Brightness | 367 |
| Frp | 175.9 |
| PixelCount | 32 |
| 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