Persistent heat source near Aïn el Bya, Algeria
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 24 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 664 earlier days since 10 February 2024, in 12 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.
155 satellite detections of this fire · 4 September – 15 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 Aïn el Bya |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Oct 12:55 | 56 MW | 4 km |
| 15 Oct 12:55 | 245 MW | 5 km |
| 15 Oct 02:19 | 209 MW | 5 km |
| 14 Oct 13:16 | 107 MW | 4 km |
| 12 Oct 12:55 | 228 MW | 5 km |
| 12 Oct 01:37 | 199 MW | 5 km |
| 11 Oct 13:16 | 401 MW | 4 km |
| 11 Oct 13:16 | 197 MW | 6 km |
| 11 Oct 12:32 | 371 MW | 5 km |
| 11 Oct 02:51 | 340 MW | 5 km |
| 11 Oct 01:56 | 308 MW | 4 km |
| 11 Oct 01:11 | 258 MW | 3 km |
| 10 Oct 13:33 | 191 MW | 3 km |
| 10 Oct 13:33 | 347 MW | 4 km |
| 10 Oct 12:49 | 317 MW | 3 km |
| 10 Oct 02:13 | 217 MW | 3 km |
| 9 Oct 13:08 | 179 MW | 4 km |
| 9 Oct 12:12 | 171 MW | 4 km |
| 9 Oct 02:32 | 162 MW | 4 km |
| 9 Oct 00:52 | 70 MW | 5 km |
| 8 Oct 02:51 | 47 MW | 6 km |
| 8 Oct 02:51 | 40 MW | 7 km |
| 7 Oct 12:51 | 91 MW | 4 km |
| 6 Oct 13:10 | 218 MW | 4 km |
| 6 Oct 02:45 | 197 MW | 5 km |
| 6 Oct 01:49 | 171 MW | 5 km |
| 6 Oct 01:05 | 131 MW | 4 km |
| 5 Oct 03:04 | 382 MW | 4 km |
| 5 Oct 03:04 | 126 MW | 4 km |
| 5 Oct 02:09 | 323 MW | 4 km |
and 125 earlier detections
This page covers the record dated 20 September 2026. Browse recent observations in this area:
Recorded by satellite 46 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 20th strongest of the 215 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 10 February 2024. Another comparable one was recorded here earlier the same day. 59 more were recorded here in the fortnight before it.
What the source measured
NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) reported 90 fire pixels with a combined fire radiative power of 234 MW, at nominal confidence, 5 km from Aïn el Bya.
The 90 pixels cover about 12.6 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.
Urban PEI: 502,320 within a heuristic 50 km radius; not unique people.
Nearby, since 10 February 2024
- March 9, 2026 · 0.8 km
- March 16, 2026 · 0.8 km
- March 9, 2026 · 0.8 km
How we know
One source: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS). Not yet confirmed by a second, independent source.
Our own score for this event is 53 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 “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 for live collection; the monthly chart also counts backfilled detections from 10 February 2024. 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) | 53 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.74/1 |
| Coordinates | 35.8108, -0.2511 |
| Nearest city | Aïn el Bya (5 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 502.3K within 50 km |
| Impact tier | catastrophic |
| Timestamp | 2026-09-20T02:43:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@-0.251,35.811,9z |
| 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: 2026-09-20T02:43:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-03-19T04:28:57.572Z. Material modification: 2026-10-16T09:23:10.038Z.
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 | 346.52 |
| Frp | 233.86 |
| PixelCount | 90 |
| Confidence | nominal |
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