# Wildfires in Eswatini in 2021

6 fires larger than 1,000 hectares in Eswatini in 2021, with 7,344 hectares burned according to their perimeters. Here is the whole year: what the official record says, when and where it burned and what the weather was like.

## The year in a few sentences

- According to Copernicus GWIS, 119,703 hectares burned in Eswatini in 2021, in line with the average of the other years from 2012 to 2024 (117,635 ha). (Copernicus GWIS)
- The worst week was 10 September to 16 September: 16,529 hectares burned in seven days, 14% of the year according to Copernicus GWIS. (Copernicus GWIS)
- The largest fire was the Mhlume fire, which started on 5 June 2021 and burned 1,439 hectares: 20% of the area of the year's 6 fires with a page. (WorldFires)

## Month by month

Hectares within the perimeters by the month the fire started. Tap a month to see it on the map.

| Month | Fires | Hectares |
|---|---:|---:|
| January | 0 | 0 |
| February | 0 | 0 |
| March | 0 | 0 |
| April | 1 | 1,006 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| June | 2 | 2,692 |
| July | 1 | 1,018 |
| August | 0 | 0 |
| September | 2 | 2,628 |
| October | 0 | 0 |
| November | 0 | 0 |
| December | 0 | 0 |

## Week by week, against other years (Copernicus GWIS)

The average and the band are the Copernicus GWIS climatology for 2012–2025, which includes 2021 itself.

| Week | 2021 | That week | average | lowest and highest |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 1 (1 Jan–7 Jan) | 0 | 0 | 126 | 0–849 |
| 2 (8 Jan–14 Jan) | 2,659 | 2,659 | 744 | 0–2,659 |
| 3 (15 Jan–21 Jan) | 3,027 | 368 | 1,402 | 0–3,308 |
| 4 (22 Jan–28 Jan) | 3,373 | 346 | 1,890 | 0–4,002 |
| 5 (29 Jan–4 Feb) | 3,610 | 237 | 2,428 | 337–4,307 |
| 6 (5 Feb–11 Feb) | 3,807 | 197 | 2,712 | 337–4,307 |
| 7 (12 Feb–18 Feb) | 4,344 | 537 | 3,088 | 637–5,131 |
| 8 (19 Feb–25 Feb) | 5,148 | 804 | 3,520 | 851–5,341 |
| 9 (26 Feb–4 Mar) | 5,148 | 0 | 3,987 | 1,033–6,411 |
| 10 (5 Mar–11 Mar) | 5,903 | 755 | 4,331 | 1,981–6,780 |
| 11 (12 Mar–18 Mar) | 6,120 | 217 | 4,733 | 2,077–7,503 |
| 12 (19 Mar–25 Mar) | 6,120 | 0 | 5,154 | 2,077–8,143 |
| 13 (26 Mar–1 Apr) | 7,391 | 1,271 | 5,523 | 2,077–8,549 |
| 14 (2 Apr–8 Apr) | 9,380 | 1,989 | 5,856 | 2,428–9,380 |
| 15 (9 Apr–15 Apr) | 11,044 | 1,664 | 6,388 | 2,518–11,044 |
| 16 (16 Apr–22 Apr) | 12,733 | 1,689 | 6,739 | 2,518–12,733 |
| 17 (23 Apr–29 Apr) | 14,814 | 2,081 | 7,662 | 3,468–14,814 |
| 18 (30 Apr–6 May) | 15,276 | 462 | 8,139 | 3,602–15,276 |
| 19 (7 May–13 May) | 16,334 | 1,058 | 9,132 | 4,349–16,334 |
| 20 (14 May–20 May) | 17,038 | 704 | 9,982 | 4,588–17,038 |
| 21 (21 May–27 May) | 19,246 | 2,208 | 10,995 | 5,807–19,246 |
| 22 (28 May–3 Jun) | 19,383 | 137 | 11,856 | 6,503–19,383 |
| 23 (4 Jun–10 Jun) | 21,201 | 1,818 | 12,988 | 6,503–21,201 |
| 24 (11 Jun–17 Jun) | 21,480 | 279 | 14,981 | 7,406–21,480 |
| 25 (18 Jun–24 Jun) | 21,951 | 471 | 16,188 | 8,371–22,534 |
| 26 (25 Jun–1 Jul) | 31,360 | 9,409 | 19,139 | 9,059–34,068 |
| 27 (2 Jul–8 Jul) | 35,423 | 4,063 | 21,984 | 11,153–48,234 |
| 28 (9 Jul–15 Jul) | 37,277 | 1,854 | 24,852 | 11,656–56,492 |
| 29 (16 Jul–22 Jul) | 40,452 | 3,175 | 32,529 | 11,656–114,046 |
| 30 (23 Jul–29 Jul) | 43,766 | 3,314 | 37,156 | 12,270–131,920 |
| 31 (30 Jul–5 Aug) | 49,787 | 6,021 | 41,737 | 14,123–139,895 |
| 32 (6 Aug–12 Aug) | 57,655 | 7,868 | 49,422 | 15,633–143,418 |
| 33 (13 Aug–19 Aug) | 61,764 | 4,109 | 56,116 | 16,833–145,801 |
| 34 (20 Aug–26 Aug) | 64,696 | 2,932 | 63,989 | 31,457–168,046 |
| 35 (27 Aug–2 Sept) | 71,913 | 7,217 | 75,164 | 36,430–173,967 |
| 36 (3 Sept–9 Sept) | 77,633 | 5,720 | 82,307 | 41,997–186,741 |
| 37 (10 Sept–16 Sept) | 94,162 | 16,529 | 92,284 | 45,766–195,344 |
| 38 (17 Sept–23 Sept) | 95,383 | 1,221 | 97,905 | 47,219–201,577 |
| 39 (24 Sept–30 Sept) | 101,495 | 6,112 | 101,102 | 47,493–205,817 |
| 40 (1 Oct–7 Oct) | 101,955 | 460 | 103,154 | 47,690–208,500 |
| 41 (8 Oct–14 Oct) | 106,859 | 4,904 | 105,672 | 48,544–209,934 |
| 42 (15 Oct–21 Oct) | 110,100 | 3,241 | 107,252 | 48,544–212,207 |
| 43 (22 Oct–28 Oct) | 110,981 | 881 | 108,470 | 50,377–212,207 |
| 44 (29 Oct–4 Nov) | 117,507 | 6,526 | 109,695 | 50,377–212,724 |
| 45 (5 Nov–11 Nov) | 118,324 | 817 | 110,640 | 50,845–215,754 |
| 46 (12 Nov–18 Nov) | 118,691 | 367 | 111,248 | 51,790–217,277 |
| 47 (19 Nov–25 Nov) | 118,691 | 0 | 111,792 | 51,790–218,210 |
| 48 (26 Nov–2 Dec) | 118,894 | 203 | 112,529 | 52,081–221,299 |
| 49 (3 Dec–9 Dec) | 119,051 | 157 | 112,783 | 52,386–221,299 |
| 50 (10 Dec–16 Dec) | 119,703 | 652 | 113,064 | 52,386–221,505 |
| 51 (17 Dec–23 Dec) | 119,703 | 0 | 113,122 | 52,386–221,505 |
| 52 (24 Dec–30 Dec) | 119,703 | 0 | 113,122 | 52,386–221,505 |

## Largest recorded fires

- [Mhlume fire, June 2021](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/mhlume-2021-06.md) · 1,439 ha
- [Somntongo fire, September 2021](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/somntongo-2021-09.md) · 1,366 ha
- [Mpolonjeni fire, September 2021](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/mpolonjeni-2021-09.md) · 1,262 ha
- [Mbabane fire, June 2021](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/mbabane-2021-06.md) · 1,253 ha
- [Piggs Peak fire, July 2021](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/piggs-peak-2021-07.md) · 1,018 ha
- [Nkhaba fire, April 2021](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/nkhaba-2021-04.md) · 1,006 ha

## Sources and limits

Fire-page areas are satellite-measured perimeters and may differ from official statistics. The yearly and weekly record is the Copernicus GWIS estimate. The FWI is our own calculation from ERA5 at each fire's location: it is not an official danger warning.

## How to cite

WorldFires, “Wildfires in Eswatini in 2021”, https://worldfires.org/en/country/eswatini/2021 (accessed 15 November 2026). Sources: Copernicus GWIS, WorldFires, NASA FIRMS (VIIRS).

> Experimental site with automatically processed open data: it may contain errors and is not an official emergency service. If there is a fire, call your local emergency number.

Full version with maps: https://worldfires.org/en/country/eswatini/2021