Persistent heat source 32 km from Bayjī, Iraq
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 12 minutes ago, and this point is not in it. We record detections, not passes: an absence is not proof that nothing is there.
One other detection within 20 km in the last 24 hours, 3 km from here.
The satellite has seen heat at this spot on 23 earlier days since 12 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.
25 satellite detections of this fire · 1 – 6 September 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 Bayjī |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Sept 10:04 | 2,771 MW | 53 km |
| 6 Sept 09:07 | 2,508 MW | 52 km |
| 5 Sept 21:48 | 2,984 MW | 53 km |
| 5 Sept 10:21 | 1,897 MW | 51 km |
| 5 Sept 09:28 | 1,492 MW | 47 km |
| 4 Sept 23:48 | 1,469 MW | 47 km |
| 4 Sept 23:03 | 955 MW | 53 km |
| 4 Sept 22:08 | 444 MW | 35 km |
| 4 Sept 10:43 | 283 MW | 38 km |
| 4 Sept 10:43 | 1,347 MW | 33 km |
| 3 Sept 11:00 | 2,297 MW | 31 km |
| 3 Sept 10:04 | 2,106 MW | 31 km |
| 3 Sept 09:20 | 1,920 MW | 31 km |
| 2 Sept 23:39 | 1,527 MW | 31 km |
| 2 Sept 22:46 | 1,372 MW | 31 km |
| 2 Sept 21:59 | 1,171 MW | 31 km |
| 2 Sept 10:24 | 917 MW | 31 km |
| 2 Sept 10:24 | 1,980 MW | 32 km |
| 2 Sept 09:37 | 1,682 MW | 31 km |
| 2 Sept 00:01 | 1,259 MW | 32 km |
| 2 Sept 00:01 | 1,081 MW | 32 km |
| 1 Sept 23:03 | 1,031 MW | 32 km |
| 1 Sept 22:20 | 829 MW | 32 km |
| 1 Sept 10:41 | 1,329 MW | 32 km |
| 1 Sept 10:41 | 702 MW | 33 km |
This page covers the record dated 3 September 2026. Browse recent observations in this area:
Recorded by satellite 58 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 120th strongest of the 215 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 12 March 2026. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 36 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 929 MW, at high confidence, 32 km from Bayjī.
The 36 pixels cover about 5.0 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: 17,414 within a heuristic 35 km radius; not unique people.
Nearby, since 12 March 2026
- October 3, 2026 · score 39 · 0.1 km
- October 15, 2026 · score 39 · 0.8 km
- September 16, 2026 · score 59 · 0.9 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 48 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 v4. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Archived as “Critical” 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 “Medium”.
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 | Medium |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 48 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.74/1 |
| Coordinates | 34.8912, 43.8365 |
| Nearest city | Bayjī (32 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 17.4K within 35 km |
| Impact tier | significant |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-03T22:27:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@43.836,34.891,9z |
| Licence | US public domain (NASA) · NASA FIRMS (LANCE) |
Physical priority index · v4 (historical). 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: 2026-09-03T22:27:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-03-17T12:30:50.304Z. Material modification: 2026-09-06T12:08:20.971Z.
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 | 928.94 |
| PixelCount | 36 |
| 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