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Wildfires in Nkhotakota
Detected · VIIRS 375 m · Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 · last 24 hours · updated 2026-10-11 09:22 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 4,390 km² of Nkhotakota at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 2,460 km², ranking 6th 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 2,900 km² detected; the quietest was 2023, with 1,910 km². The 2021–2025 average is 26% 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 80% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 25 September 2016, with detections in 125 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 4,390 km² with at least one detection, 94% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 116 | 2.6% |
| 2 years | 156 | 3.6% |
| 3 to 5 years | 841 | 19% |
| 6 to 10 years | 2,240 | 51% |
| 11 years or more | 1,040 | 24% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at -12.25, 33.75 and holds 29% of the region's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 2,850 | 3,956 |
| 2013 | 2,860 | 3,948 |
| 2014 | 2,900 | 4,041 |
| 2015 | 2,830 | 3,925 |
| 2016 | 2,900 | 4,047 |
| 2017 | 2,200 | 2,850 |
| 2018 | 2,400 | 3,247 |
| 2019 | 2,280 | 3,155 |
| 2020 | 2,560 | 3,439 |
| 2021 | 2,480 | 3,580 |
| 2022 | 2,020 | 2,615 |
| 2023 | 1,910 | 2,491 |
| 2024 | 2,070 | 2,654 |
| 2025 | 2,180 | 2,846 |
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
- 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.