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Wildfires in Chikwawa
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 4,280 km² of Chikwawa at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 1,970 km², ranking 8th of 28 regions of Malawi.
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 2014, with 2,290 km² detected; the quietest was 2024, with 1,250 km². The 2021–2025 average is 22% lower 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.
August, September and October together hold 73% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 1 October 2014, with detections in 141 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 4,280 km² with at least one detection, 80% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 474 | 11% |
| 2 years | 364 | 8.5% |
| 3 to 5 years | 981 | 23% |
| 6 to 10 years | 1,720 | 40% |
| 11 years or more | 733 | 17% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at -16.25, 34.75 and holds 41% of the region's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2,180 | 2,886 |
| 2013 | 1,950 | 2,404 |
| 2014 | 2,290 | 2,869 |
| 2015 | 2,250 | 3,163 |
| 2016 | 1,970 | 2,697 |
| 2017 | 2,140 | 2,624 |
| 2018 | 2,000 | 2,660 |
| 2019 | 2,270 | 2,920 |
| 2020 | 2,240 | 2,878 |
| 2021 | 1,720 | 2,175 |
| 2022 | 1,660 | 2,052 |
| 2023 | 1,970 | 2,683 |
| 2024 | 1,250 | 1,461 |
| 2025 | 1,700 | 2,134 |
Other regions of Malawi
- Mzimba3,870 km² in an average year
- Kasungu3,240 km² in an average year
- Mangochi2,950 km² in an average year
- Nkhata Bay2,760 km² in an average year
- Rumphi2,490 km² in an average year
- Nkhotakota2,460 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.