AURSEEAursee
Wildfires in Zomba
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 2,010 km² of Zomba at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 556 km², ranking 21st 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 787 km² detected; the quietest was 2025, with 323 km². The 2021–2025 average is 35% 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 68% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 23 July 2012, with detections in 31 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 2,010 km² with at least one detection, 57% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 494 | 25% |
| 2 years | 360 | 18% |
| 3 to 5 years | 620 | 31% |
| 6 to 10 years | 483 | 24% |
| 11 years or more | 50 | 2.5% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at -15.25, 35.25 and holds 65% of the region's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 787 | 1,147 |
| 2013 | 722 | 821 |
| 2014 | 664 | 802 |
| 2015 | 488 | 539 |
| 2016 | 552 | 754 |
| 2017 | 680 | 821 |
| 2018 | 564 | 682 |
| 2019 | 670 | 706 |
| 2020 | 580 | 622 |
| 2021 | 606 | 675 |
| 2022 | 380 | 450 |
| 2023 | 407 | 421 |
| 2024 | 363 | 398 |
| 2025 | 323 | 333 |
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.