Persistent heat source near Meiderich, Germany
Right now
The most recent data we hold from NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) arrived 4 minutes ago, and this point is not in it. We record detections, not passes: an absence is not proof that nothing is there.
2 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 114 earlier days since 13 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.
31 satellite detections of this fire · 20 – 30 May 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 Meiderich |
|---|---|---|
| 30 May 23:57 | 191 MW | 3 km |
| 30 May 14:40 | 128 MW | 3 km |
| 30 May 07:03 | 116 MW | 3 km |
| 29 May 23:57 | 214 MW | 3 km |
| 28 May 15:02 | 98 MW | 3 km |
| 28 May 15:02 | 251 MW | 3 km |
| 28 May 15:02 | 244 MW | 3 km |
| 28 May 14:35 | 213 MW | 3 km |
| 28 May 04:33 | 146 MW | 3 km |
| 27 May 23:59 | 314 MW | 3 km |
| 27 May 13:52 | 265 MW | 3 km |
| 27 May 02:56 | 156 MW | 3 km |
| 26 May 23:56 | 381 MW | 3 km |
| 26 May 14:11 | 335 MW | 3 km |
| 26 May 05:07 | 251 MW | 2 km |
| 26 May 00:09 | 218 MW | 2 km |
| 25 May 23:58 | 329 MW | 2 km |
| 25 May 14:35 | 250 MW | 3 km |
| 25 May 12:57 | 205 MW | 2 km |
| 25 May 05:21 | 148 MW | 3 km |
| 25 May 03:43 | 110 MW | 3 km |
| 24 May 23:58 | 266 MW | 3 km |
| 24 May 15:04 | 226 MW | 3 km |
| 24 May 13:27 | 219 MW | 3 km |
| 23 May 14:05 | 149 MW | 3 km |
| 23 May 14:05 | 269 MW | 3 km |
| 23 May 14:05 | 316 MW | 3 km |
| 23 May 00:00 | 192 MW | 3 km |
| 22 May 23:58 | 213 MW | 3 km |
| 22 May 13:51 | 136 MW | 3 km |
and 1 earlier detections
This page covers the record dated 20 May 2026. Browse recent observations in this area:
Recorded by satellite 160 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 145th strongest of the 229 detections recorded within 20 km of this point since 10 February 2024. The last comparable one was on 17 May 2026. 17 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 96 MW, at nominal confidence, 4 km from Meiderich.
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: 2,034,471 within a heuristic 35 km radius; not unique people.
Nearby, since 10 February 2024
- July 7, 2026 · score 48 · 0.3 km
- June 2, 2026 · score 48 · 0.3 km
- June 7, 2026 · score 48 · 0.3 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 v1. Rows carrying other versions were judged by different rules and are not directly comparable.
Archived as “High” 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 “Low”.
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 | Low |
| Calamity Score (ours) | 48 / 100 |
| Legacy data-support index | 0.74/1 |
| Coordinates | 51.4576, 6.7227 |
| Nearest city | Meiderich (4 km) |
| Urban exposure index (PEI) | 2.0M within 35 km |
| Impact tier | severe |
| Timestamp | 2026-05-20T12:32:00.000Z |
| Source | https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@6.723,51.458,9z |
| Licence | US public domain (NASA) · NASA FIRMS (LANCE) |
Physical priority index · v1. 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: 2026-05-20T12:32:00.000Z.
First archived: 2026-05-20T23:58:03.398Z. Material modification: 2026-05-30T23:58:20.687Z.
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 | 339.4 |
| Frp | 95.62 |
| PixelCount | 32 |
| 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