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Wildfires in Papua New Guinea
Detected · VIIRS 375 m · Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 · last 24 hours · updated 2026-10-11 08:31 UTC
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Regions
- Central109 fires
- Chimbu19 fires
- East New Britain23 fires
- East Sepik50 fires
- Eastern Highlands65 fires
- Enga21 fires
- Gulf16 fires
- Madang37 fires
- Manus2 fires
- Milne Bay34 fires
- Morobe57 fires
- New Ireland42 fires
- Oro37 fires
- Port Moresby2 fires
- Sandaun15 fires
- Southern Highlands96 fires
- West New Britain48 fires
- Western414 fires
- Western Highlands35 fires
- of Bougainville3 fires
42 fires
Nothing matches.
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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 2026-09-21
Between 2012 and 2025, VIIRS detected fire in 103,610 km² of Papua New Guinea at least once. In an average year it detected fire in 22,120 km², ranking 56th of 200 countries.
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 2015, with 55,970 km² detected; the quietest was 2025, with 14,170 km². The 2021–2025 average is 27% 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 57% of the fire-days in the record. The single busiest day was 21 October 2015, with detections in 1,888 cells.
Ground that burns again
Of the 103,610 km² with at least one detection, 42% had detections in three or more different years.
| Years with a detection | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | 40,510 | 39% |
| 2 years | 19,340 | 19% |
| 3 to 5 years | 28,080 | 27% |
| 6 to 10 years | 13,860 | 13% |
| 11 years or more | 1,830 | 1.8% |
The half-degree square with the most fire-days is centred at -8.75, 141.25 and holds 3.9% of the country's fire-days.
The figures
Show the table
| Year | Detected km² | Fire-days |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 18,620 | 20,049 |
| 2013 | 17,790 | 19,110 |
| 2014 | 23,030 | 25,861 |
| 2015 | 55,970 | 78,331 |
| 2016 | 15,490 | 17,164 |
| 2017 | 18,260 | 20,151 |
| 2018 | 25,980 | 30,119 |
| 2019 | 22,430 | 24,268 |
| 2020 | 16,720 | 17,416 |
| 2021 | 17,770 | 19,636 |
| 2022 | 22,750 | 26,608 |
| 2023 | 24,350 | 27,251 |
| 2024 | 16,330 | 17,094 |
| 2025 | 14,170 | 15,207 |
Nearby countries
- Australia465,550 km² in an average year
- New Zealand1,880 km² in an average year
- Fiji1,730 km² in an average year
- New Caledonia584 km² in an average year
- Solomon Islands167 km² in an average year
- Vanuatu132 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.
What sits behind each of these fires
Attached to every fire in the list above, and redrawn hourly.
