Calamity

This page covers the event recorded here on 2026-08-05. A later event has since been recorded at the same location. See the current event at this location.

mediumWildfireCalamity Score: 39

Wildfire near Al Madīnah

IraqNASA FIRMS (VIIRS)

Recorded by satellite 25 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 67th strongest of the 75 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 13 June 2026. The last comparable one was on 4 August 2026. 12 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.

What the source measured

NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 4 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 52 MW, at nominal confidence, 8 km from Al Madīnah.

The 4 pixels cover about 0.6 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 238,715 people live within 20 km of this point.

Nearby, since 13 June 2026

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, at 74 % confidence.

The score is ours, computed from intensity, exposed population and local history — not the source’s.

Event Data

TypeWildfire
Severitymedium
Calamity Score (ours)39 / 100
Our confidence74%
Coordinates31.0312, 47.2839
Nearest CityAl Madīnah (8 km)
Population Exposed238.7K within 20 km
Impact Tiersignificant
Timestamp2026-08-05T22:25:00.000Z

Score Breakdown

40
intensity
70
population
0
cascading
20
historical

Technical Details

Brightness335.07
Frp52.1
PixelCount4
Confidencenominal

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.

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Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 39/100, near Al Madīnah (Iraq), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 188 scientific monitoring sources.