Is there a fire near Malakal right now?
Wildfires near Malakal
Updated
19 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 3 km N, 1 detection in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 1:00 pm local (2026-10-25 11:00 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Malakal, Upper Nile, South Sudan, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Juba).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 19 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 3 km N 3 km N of Malakal
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 139 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 70 MW moderate
- Wind now
- SSW 14 km/h gusts 24 km/h, humidity 32%
Fires near Malakal right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 139 thermal hotspots in 19 separate clusters within 80 km of Malakal, Upper Nile, South Sudan in the last 48 h. The closest is 3 km N of the city centre (3 km N of Malakal), with 1 detection and a peak fire radiative power of 5 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
6 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 77 km SW (87 km SW of Malakal) with 55 detections; first seen Sat 2 am and last seen Sun 1 pm local time.
Across South Sudan there are 490 fire clusters in the same window, 163 of them in Upper Nile.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 km N of Malakal | 3 km N | 1 | 5 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 9 km E of Malakal | 9 km E | 1 | 5 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 13 km N of Malakal | 13 km N | 3 | 5 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 15 km WNW of Malakal | 15 km WNW | 1 | 7 MW | Sun 1:00 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 18 km WSW of Malakal | 16 km WSW | 13 | 70 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 26 km S of Malakal | 21 km S | 5 | 8 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 37 km SE of Malakal | 34 km SE | 15 | 17 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 35 km NNE of Malakal | 35 km NNE | 4 | 10 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 49 km NNE of Malakal | 40 km NNE | 13 | 59 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 46 km WSW of Malakal | 46 km WSW | 1 | 11 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 51 km SE of Malakal | 51 km SE | 8 | 10 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 55 km W of Malakal | 55 km W | 1 | 21 MW | Sun 1:00 pm | Sun 1:00 pm |
| 65 km W of Malakal | 64 km W | 3 | 46 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 67 km WSW of Malakal | 67 km WSW | 1 | 8 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
| 71 km ENE of Malakal | 70 km ENE | 5 | 14 MW | Sat 1:19 pm | Sat 1:19 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Malakal is from the SSW at 14 km/h (gusts 24 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the NNE. Relative humidity is 32% and the temperature 32°C.
Malakal is not directly downwind of the nearest fire at the moment, though winds shift and plumes from larger fires can still reach the city.
Smoke shows up first as PM2.5 on air-quality monitors; the Malakal 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.