Calamity
criticalWildfireCalamity Score: 81

Wildfire near Kirkuk

IraqNASA FIRMS (VIIRS)

Recorded by satellite 74 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 7th strongest of the 516 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 7 March 2026. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day. 65 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.

What the source measured

NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 122 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 1785 MW, at high confidence, 41 km from Kirkuk.

The 122 pixels cover about 17.1 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 192,316 people live within 50 km of this point.

Nearby, since 7 March 2026

How we know

One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.

Our own score for this event is 81 out of 100, at 84 % confidence.

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

Event Data

TypeWildfire
Severitycritical
Calamity Score (ours)81 / 100
Our confidence84%
Coordinates35.6388, 43.9912
Nearest CityKirkuk (41 km)
Population Exposed192.3K within 50 km
Impact Tiersevere
Date2026-06-17 — time not reported by the source

Score Breakdown

95
intensity
70
population
70
cascading
80
historical

Technical Details

Brightness367
Frp1785.04
PixelCount122
Confidencehigh

Cascade Risks

air quality emergency

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.

Share:XLinkedIn

Calamity.live data shows a fire event with CalamityScore 81/100, near Kirkuk (Iraq), based on data from firms. Source: Calamity.live, a platform aggregating real-time data from 191 scientific monitoring sources.