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Wildfires in Phalombe
Detected · VIIRS 375 m · Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 · last 24 hours · updated 2026-10-11 05:23 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 959 km² of Phalombe at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 252 km², ranking 25th 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 2012, with 385 km² detected; the quietest was 2025, with 151 km². The 2021–2025 average is 41% 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.
July, August and September together hold 70% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 19 August 2013, with detections in 22 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 959 km² with at least one detection, 55% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 266 | 28% |
| 2 years | 167 | 17% |
| 3 to 5 years | 290 | 30% |
| 6 to 10 years | 219 | 23% |
| 11 years or more | 17 | 1.7% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at -15.75, 35.75 and holds 98% of the region's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 385 | 491 |
| 2013 | 330 | 366 |
| 2014 | 308 | 335 |
| 2015 | 255 | 302 |
| 2016 | 268 | 317 |
| 2017 | 293 | 321 |
| 2018 | 228 | 251 |
| 2019 | 302 | 313 |
| 2020 | 240 | 265 |
| 2021 | 237 | 244 |
| 2022 | 159 | 168 |
| 2023 | 154 | 158 |
| 2024 | 216 | 234 |
| 2025 | 151 | 185 |
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.