Wildfires in Eswatini
75 fires over 1,000 hectares with a perimeter estimated by GWIS since 2016, adding up to 114,983 hectares burned across 36 tinkhundla.
Only fires of 1,000 ha or more get an entry: smaller ones are not in the lists or the entry totals, but they are in the GWIS yearly series.
Key facts
- According to Copernicus GWIS, 52,386 hectares burned in Eswatini in 2025.
- The worst year in Eswatini since 2016 was 2019, with 221,505 hectares burned according to Copernicus GWIS.
- According to Copernicus GWIS estimates, an average of 99,879 hectares burn in Eswatini each year (2016–2025 average).
- Fires counted by Copernicus GWIS in Eswatini so far in 2026 (up to week 42): 108, against an average of 378 per full year in 2016–2025.
- Largest fire recorded by WorldFires in Eswatini since 2016: Maphalaleni fire, 19 July 2019, with 5,188 hectares burned — perimeter rebuilt from heat detections (Copernicus GWIS).
Figures computed on 25 October 2026 from the WorldFires database; each sentence names its source. Reusable under CC BY 4.0 with credit to WorldFires.
How the season is going · week 42
Copernicus GWIS · provisionalEswatini is running below the usual for this point in the year, at 21 % of the average: 22,303 hectares burned up to week 42, against an average of 107,252 in 2012–2025 (Copernicus GWIS). No year between 2012 and 2025 had burned this little by now.
- 2026
- 22,303 ha
- average
- 107,252 ha
- minimum
- 48,544 ha
- maximum
- 212,207 ha
GWIS estimates for the current year are provisional and may change.
The season, week by week
Copernicus GWISThe GWIS yearly series
2012–2026›See the year-by-year table
| Year | Fires | hectares | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 108 | 22,303 | GWIS |
| 2025 | 196 | 52,386 | GWIS |
| 2024 | 383 | 110,525 | GWIS |
| 2023 | 420 | 104,081 | GWIS |
| 2022 | 285 | 73,821 | GWIS |
| 2021 | 487 | 119,703 | GWIS |
| 2020 | 334 | 84,868 | GWIS |
| 2019 | 778 | 221,505 | GWIS |
| 2018 | 310 | 75,381 | GWIS |
| 2017 | 369 | 98,427 | GWIS |
| 2016 | 222 | 58,096 | GWIS |
| 2015 | 316 | 79,048 | GWIS |
| 2014 | 666 | 187,805 | GWIS |
| 2013 | 567 | 166,193 | GWIS |
| 2012 | 563 | 151,872 | GWIS |
National estimates from Copernicus GWIS, rebuilt from heat detections since 2012.
Fire calendar
The peak usually comes in week 35 (around 30 August): that is the median of the week with the most burned area in each year since 2016.
Each cell is one week; the colour shows the area of the fires on record that started that week, in quartiles for this country. Tap a cell for details.
When it burned: year by year, month by month
Hectares with a perimeter estimated by GWIS by the fire’s starting month, and the largest fire of each year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Σ | Largest of the year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1k | 2k | 2k | 3k | 8,805 | Nkhaba 1,550 ha | ||||||||
| 2025 | 3k | 3,222 | Gege 1,168 ha | |||||||||||
| 2024 | 2k | 8k | 1k | 11,906 | Mhlume 2,431 ha | |||||||||
| 2023 | 1k | 6k | 7,067 | Dvokodvweni 1,714 ha | ||||||||||
| 2022 | 1k | 1k | 2k | 4,727 | Nkhaba 2,454 ha | |||||||||
| 2021 | 1k | 3k | 1k | 3k | 7,344 | Mhlume 1,439 ha | ||||||||
| 2020 | 1k | 6k | 3k | 10,177 | Nkhaba 3,037 ha | |||||||||
| 2019 | 1k | 29k | 2k | 1k | 33,171 | Maphalaleni 5,188 ha | ||||||||
| 2018 | 3k | 3,164 | Somntongo 2,157 ha | |||||||||||
| 2017 | 1k | 6k | 7k | 13,541 | Ndzingeni 1,639 ha | |||||||||
| 2016 | 1k | 2k | 7k | 1k | 11,859 | Nkhaba 4,029 ha |
Hectares burned per year
Tell me what burns here
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Largest recorded fires
By region
- Hhohho 61,178 ha · 39
- Manzini 21,253 ha · 19
- Lubombo 16,166 ha · 12
- Shiselweni 14,663 ha · 12
Tinkhundla that have burned most often in Eswatini
- 14×Nkhaba10 years · 22,428 ha
- 11×Maphalaleni5 years · 18,878 ha
- 8×Piggs Peak4 years · 9,035 ha
- 6×Mhlume4 years · 6,219 ha
- 5×Mahlangatja4 years · 6,466 ha
Full ranking: by number of fires, area and share of the municipality →
Fires in 2026 · 7
Fires in 2025 · 3
Fires in 2024 · 8
Fires in 2023 · 5
Fires in 2022 · 3
Fires in 2021 · 6
Fires in 2020 · 6
Fires in 2019 · 19
- 5,188 haMaphalaleni19 July 2019 · 3 days
- 3,354 haSomntongoJuly 2019 · 4 days
- 2,447 haNkhaba23 July 2019 · 3 days
- 2,180 haMhlambanyatsiJuly 2019 · 3 days
- 1,959 haMahlangatja19 July 2019 · 6 days
- 1,666 haGegeAugust 2019 · 3 days
- 1,549 haMahlangatja19 July 2019 · 2 days
- 1,514 haSiphofaneniJuly 2019 · 1 day
- 1,502 haTimpisiniJuly 2019 · 2 days
- 1,402 haMaphalaleniSeptember 2019 · 3 days
- 1,384 haMaphalaleni19 July 2019 · 3 days
- 1,273 haSomntongoJune 2019 · 5 days
- 1,169 haMafutseniJuly 2019 · 2 days
- 1,161 haNdzingeniJuly 2019 · 3 days
- 1,159 haNtondoziJuly 2019 · 1 day
- 1,138 haLobamba LomdzalaJuly 2019 · 1 day
- 1,058 haLudzeludzeJuly 2019 · 3 days
- 1,054 haNkhaba11 July 2019 · 5 days
- 1,014 haMotjaneJuly 2019 · 4 days
Fires in 2018 · 2
Fires in 2017 · 10
- 1,639 haNdzingeniAugust 2017 · 4 days
- 1,494 haMaphalaleni22 August 2017 · 2 days
- 1,485 haMaphalaleni11 September 2017 · 5 days
- 1,438 haMaphalaleni16 August 2017 · 1 day
- 1,379 haNkhabaSeptember 2017 · 7 days
- 1,375 haMaphalaleni22 August 2017 · 3 days
- 1,360 haMtsambamaSeptember 2017 · 4 days
- 1,311 haMaphalaleni13 September 2017 · 2 days
- 1,046 haNkhabaJuly 2017 · 1 day
- 1,014 haZombodzeSeptember 2017 · 1 day
Fires in 2016 · 6
Frequently asked questions
- How much land burns in Eswatini in an average year?
- According to Copernicus GWIS estimates, an average of 99,879 hectares burn in Eswatini each year (2016–2025 average).
- What was the worst wildfire year in Eswatini?
- The worst year in Eswatini since 2016 was 2019, with 221,505 hectares burned according to Copernicus GWIS.
- What is the largest wildfire recorded in Eswatini?
- Largest fire recorded by WorldFires in Eswatini since 2016: Maphalaleni fire, 19 July 2019, with 5,188 hectares burned — perimeter rebuilt from heat detections (Copernicus GWIS).
- When is wildfire season in Eswatini?
- In Eswatini, 85% of the area burned in fires with a WorldFires page since 2016 burned in July–September; the month with the most burned area: August.
- How many wildfires has Eswatini had in 2026?
- Fires counted by Copernicus GWIS in Eswatini so far in 2026 (up to week 42): 108, against an average of 378 per full year in 2016–2025. Eswatini is running below the usual for this point in the year, at 21 % of the average: 22,303 hectares burned up to week 42, against an average of 107,252 in 2012–2025 (Copernicus GWIS). No year between 2012 and 2025 had burned this little by now.
- Which regions of Eswatini burn the most?
- Regions of Eswatini with the most area burned in fires with a WorldFires page since 2016: Hhohho (61,178 ha), Manzini (21,253 ha), Lubombo (16,166 ha).