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Wildfires in Nkhata Bay
Detected · VIIRS 375 m · Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 · last 24 hours · updated 2026-10-11 08:31 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 4,320 km² of Nkhata Bay at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 2,760 km², ranking 4th 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 2016, with 3,080 km² detected; the quietest was 2017, with 2,300 km². The 2021–2025 average is 6.0% 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.
September, October and November together hold 95% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 24 October 2013, with detections in 421 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 4,320 km² with at least one detection, 94% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 144 | 3.3% |
| 2 years | 132 | 3.1% |
| 3 to 5 years | 614 | 14% |
| 6 to 10 years | 1,650 | 38% |
| 11 years or more | 1,780 | 41% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at -11.75, 33.75 and holds 36% of the region's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2,960 | 5,216 |
| 2013 | 2,810 | 4,812 |
| 2014 | 2,750 | 4,545 |
| 2015 | 2,950 | 5,461 |
| 2016 | 3,080 | 5,652 |
| 2017 | 2,300 | 3,246 |
| 2018 | 2,490 | 3,595 |
| 2019 | 2,870 | 4,848 |
| 2020 | 2,690 | 4,248 |
| 2021 | 2,850 | 4,657 |
| 2022 | 2,790 | 4,594 |
| 2023 | 2,850 | 4,860 |
| 2024 | 2,610 | 4,118 |
| 2025 | 2,580 | 4,372 |
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
- Rumphi2,490 km² in an average year
- Nkhotakota2,460 km² in an average year
- Chitipa2,070 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.