MW · Malawi

Wildfire briefing: Malawi

A short, quotable summary of the last 24 hours and of the season. Rebuilt every hour.

Data up to: 26 Oct 2026, 13:48 UTC

Probable fires in Malawi in the last 24 hours: 14, with 186 heat detections from the VIIRS satellites (NASA FIRMS; latest detection: 26 Oct 2026, 10:47 UTC).

Fires with a WorldFires page still showing heat detections in the last 48 hours: 47.

Largest active fire: Nkhata Bay fire, 6 October 2026, with 42,430 hectares burned — perimeter rebuilt from heat detections (Copernicus GWIS); latest heat detection: 26 Oct 2026, 10:36 UTC.

Malawi is running below the usual for this point in the year, at 35 % of the average: 235,336 hectares burned up to week 42, against an average of 672,521 in 2012–2025 (Copernicus GWIS). No year between 2012 and 2025 had burned this little by now. GWIS estimates for the current year are provisional and may change.

Forecast fire danger for today near Nkhata Bay: moderate (FWI 14), computed by WorldFires from the ECMWF IFS forecast.

Markdown

Suggested citation

WorldFires, “Wildfire briefing: Malawi”, https://worldfires.org/en/country/malawi/briefing (accessed 26 Oct 2026, 13:48 UTC). Sources: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS), Copernicus GWIS, ECMWF IFS (Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0).

Licence CC BY 4.0: this briefing may be reproduced, including by the media, crediting “WorldFires (worldfires.org)” and the original sources.

Sources: NASA FIRMS (VIIRS) · Copernicus GWIS · ECMWF IFS (Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0)

A heat detection is not a confirmed fire: farm burning and industry also produce them, and clouds or smoke can hide a fire.

If you are in danger, call your local emergency number and follow the instructions of the authorities. WorldFires is not an emergency service.

Wildfires in Malawi today › Wildfires in Malawi › Methodology ›