Is there a fire near Kabwe right now?
Wildfires near Kabwe
Updated
28 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 3 km ESE, 5 detections in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 2:34 pm local (2026-10-25 12:34 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Kabwe, Central Province, Zambia, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Lusaka).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 28 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 3 km ESE at Kabwe
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 74 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 24 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- ESE 15 km/h gusts 30 km/h, humidity 38%
Fires near Kabwe right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 74 thermal hotspots in 28 separate clusters within 80 km of Kabwe, Central Province, Zambia in the last 48 h. The closest is 3 km ESE of the city centre (at Kabwe), with 5 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 2 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
2 clusters are within 25 km, close enough that smoke, ash or road closures may affect the city. Distances are measured from the city centre to the nearest detection, not to the fire's edge.
The largest nearby cluster by detections is 60 km SSE (63 km NE of Chunga) with 8 detections; first seen Sun 2 am and last seen Sun 2 pm local time.
Across Zambia there are 1,046 fire clusters in the same window, 77 of them in Central Province.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at Kabwe | 3 km ESE | 5 | 2 MW | Sat 2:20 am | Sun 2:03 am |
| 18 km E of Kabwe | 18 km E | 2 | 5 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 25 km SSW of Kabwe | 25 km SSW | 1 | 3 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sat 1:13 pm |
| 30 km NE of Kabwe | 30 km NE | 2 | 5 MW | Sat 1:15 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 30 km W of Kabwe | 30 km W | 1 | 2 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sat 1:13 pm |
| 34 km WSW of Kabwe | 34 km WSW | 2 | 4 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sun 2:03 am |
| 38 km SSW of Kabwe | 37 km SSW | 3 | 7 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 45 km ENE of Kabwe | 41 km ENE | 4 | 7 MW | Sat 1:13 pm | Sun 2:03 am |
| 50 km N of Kabwe | 50 km N | 1 | 4 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 51 km NW of Kabwe | 51 km NW | 1 | 1 MW | Sun 2:03 am | Sun 2:03 am |
| 52 km NE of Kabwe | 52 km NE | 2 | 2 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 57 km WSW of Kabwe | 53 km WSW | 5 | 12 MW | Sun 2:34 pm | Sun 2:34 pm |
| 57 km SE of Kabwe | 56 km SE | 5 | 10 MW | Sat 2:20 am | Sat 1:13 pm |
| 57 km NNE of Kabwe | 57 km NNE | 1 | 4 MW | Sat 1:15 pm | Sat 1:15 pm |
| 63 km NE of Chunga | 60 km SSE | 8 | 6 MW | Sun 2:03 am | Sun 2:34 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Kabwe is from the ESE at 15 km/h (gusts 30 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the WNW. Relative humidity is 38% and the temperature 27°C.
Kabwe is roughly downwind of the nearest fire, so smoke and haze are likely; check the air quality page before spending time outdoors.
Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Kabwe air quality page has the live reading.
Evacuations and official information
GodsView shows satellite detections only. It does not know fire perimeters, containment or evacuation zones. Always follow evacuation orders from local authorities.
The Global Wildfire Information System, GWIS (gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu), maps fire danger and burnt areas worldwide; evacuation orders come from national civil protection and local authorities.
About satellite fire detections
Satellite thermal hotspots are not all wildfires: gas flares, steel works, volcanoes and planned agricultural or prescribed burns show up too. VIIRS passes over most places about twice a day, so a fire can start or grow between passes, and thick smoke or cloud can hide one.
Fire radiative power (FRP) is the heat a fire gives off, in megawatts per pixel: under 10 MW is usually a small or smouldering fire, over 100 MW an intense flaming front.
Wildfires near other cities
More for this area
Data: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS active fires), Open-Meteo, GeoNames.