AURSEEAursee
Wildfires in Atacama
Detected · VIIRS 375 m · Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 · last 24 hours · updated 2026-10-11 06:21 UTC
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Fire history, 2012–2025
Detected · VIIRS S-NPP 375 m · 0.01° cells (~1.1 km) · complete years 2012–2025 · built 2026-09-23
Between 2012 and 2025, VIIRS detected fire in 1,280 km² of Atacama at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 186 km², ranking 10th of 16 regions of Chile.
Year by year
Detected area per year, km². Area of 0.01° cells with at least one detection in the year.
The busiest year was 2023, with 289 km² detected; the quietest was 2013, with 118 km². The 2021–2025 average is 88% higher than the 2012–2016 average.
Through the year
Share of all fire-days 2012–2025 by month. A fire-day is one cell with a detection on one day.
November, December and January together hold 36% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 23 October 2025, with detections in 78 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 1,280 km² with at least one detection, 19% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 948 | 74% |
| 2 years | 92 | 7.2% |
| 3 to 5 years | 143 | 11% |
| 6 to 10 years | 58 | 4.6% |
| 11 years or more | 38 | 2.9% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at -27.25, -70.25 and holds 33% of the region's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 133 | 836 |
| 2013 | 118 | 777 |
| 2014 | 127 | 781 |
| 2015 | 131 | 706 |
| 2016 | 166 | 800 |
| 2017 | 160 | 804 |
| 2018 | 154 | 923 |
| 2019 | 175 | 815 |
| 2020 | 174 | 1,025 |
| 2021 | 188 | 1,094 |
| 2022 | 248 | 1,139 |
| 2023 | 289 | 1,303 |
| 2024 | 258 | 1,045 |
| 2025 | 286 | 968 |
Other regions of Chile
- La Araucanía2,380 km² in an average year
- Biobío1,440 km² in an average year
- Maule1,420 km² in an average year
- Ñuble1,260 km² in an average year
- Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins690 km² in an average year
- Región Metropolitana de Santiago445 km² in an average year
- How these figures are madeDetected area, cells, and the single-satellite record.
Detected area counts every 0.01° cell with at least one VIIRS detection, so a small fire counts as a whole cell and a fire missed by cloud or between passes is absent. Borders: Natural Earth 1:10m. 2012 begins on 20 January.
Nearby regions
- La Rioja, Argentina368 km
- Antofagasta389 km
- Coquimbo401 km
- Tucumán, Argentina494 km
- Catamarca, Argentina504 km
- San Juan, Argentina536 km