Is there a fire near Pietermaritzburg right now?
Wildfires near Pietermaritzburg
Updated
5 fire clusters within 80 km; nearest 40 km W, 3 detections in the last 48 h Latest satellite pass with a detection: Sun 2:07 am local (2026-10-25 00:07 UTC).
Live satellite fire detections within 80 km of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, grouped into fire clusters, with the wind direction for smoke. Times are local (Africa/Johannesburg).
- Fire clusters within 80 km
- 5 last 48 h
- Nearest fire
- 40 km W 39 km NW of Richmond
- Hotspot detections nearby
- 23 VIIRS 375 m pixels, last 48 h
- Strongest fire radiative power
- 60 MW moderate
- Wind now
- SE 7 km/h gusts 19 km/h, humidity 92%
Fires near Pietermaritzburg right now
NASA's VIIRS sensors detected 23 thermal hotspots in 5 separate clusters within 80 km of Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa in the last 48 h. The closest is 40 km W of the city centre (39 km NW of Richmond), with 3 detections and a peak fire radiative power of 25 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 68 km SSW (38 km SSW of Richmond) with 10 detections; first seen Sat 1 pm and last seen Sat 2 pm local time.
Across South Africa there are 175 fire clusters in the same window, 32 of them in KwaZulu-Natal.
| Fire cluster | From city | Detections | Peak FRP | First seen | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 km NW of Richmond | 40 km W | 3 | 25 MW | Sat 1:08 pm | Sat 2:49 pm |
| 5 km WSW of Ntuzuma | 49 km ESE | 2 | 1 MW | Sun 12:25 am | Sun 12:25 am |
| 41 km WNW of Richmond | 52 km WSW | 5 | 22 MW | Sat 2:49 pm | Sat 2:49 pm |
| 38 km SSW of Richmond | 68 km SSW | 10 | 60 MW | Sat 1:08 pm | Sat 2:46 pm |
| 74 km WNW of Richmond | 75 km W | 3 | 2 MW | Sun 12:25 am | Sun 2:07 am |
Smoke and wind
Wind at Pietermaritzburg is from the SE at 7 km/h (gusts 19 km/h), so smoke near the city drifts toward the NW. Relative humidity is 92% and the temperature 18°C.
Pietermaritzburg 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 Pietermaritzburg 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.