Is there a fire near Palmerston right now?
Bushfires near Palmerston, NT
Updated
4 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 28 km W, 3 detections in the last 24 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Mon 2:26 am local (2026-10-25 16:56 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Australia/Darwin).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 4 last 24 h
- Nearest fire
- 28 km W 12 km W of Darwin
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 16 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 24 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 20 MW low-intensity
- Wind now
- NW 11 km/h gusts 28 km/h, humidity 73%
Fires near Palmerston right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 16 thermal hotspots in 4 separate clusters within 80 km of Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia in the last 24 h. The closest is 28 km W of the city centre (12 km W of Darwin), with 3 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 15 MW, which is low-intensity for a single 375 m pixel.
None of the clusters is within 25 km of the centre, so the city itself is not in the immediate fire area, but smoke can travel hundreds of kilometres.
The largest nearby cluster by detections is 78 km SSE (79 km SSE of Palmerston) with 10 detections; first seen Sun 3 pm and last seen Sun 3 pm local time.
Across Australia there are 244 fire clusters in the same window, 162 of them in Northern Territory.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 km W of Darwin | 28 km W | 3 | 15 MW | Sun 3:20 pm | Sun 3:20 pm |
| 38 km S of Palmerston | 38 km S | 1 | 2 MW | Mon 2:26 am | Mon 2:26 am |
| 56 km ESE of Palmerston | 56 km ESE | 2 | 5 MW | Sun 3:18 pm | Sun 3:20 pm |
| 79 km SSE of Palmerston | 78 km SSE | 10 | 20 MW | Sun 3:18 pm | Sun 3:18 pm |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Palmerston is from the NW at 11 km/h (gusts 28 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the SE. Relative humidity is 73% and the temperature 30°C.
Palmerston 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 Palmerston 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.
Bushfire warnings in Australia are issued by state services; here that is SecureNT (securent.nt.gov.au). Follow the Australian Warning System levels (Advice, Watch and Act, Emergency Warning).
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.