# Wildfire briefing: Malawi

_Data up to: 30 Oct 2026, 10:42 UTC_

Probable fires in Malawi in the last 24 hours: 18, with 1,284 heat detections from the VIIRS satellites (NASA FIRMS; latest detection: 30 Oct 2026, 07:50 UTC).

Fires with a WorldFires page still showing heat detections in the last 48 hours: 49.

Largest active fire: Nkhata Bay fire, 5 October 2026, with 141,799 hectares burned — perimeter rebuilt from heat detections (Copernicus GWIS); latest heat detection: 29 Oct 2026, 23:29 UTC.

Malawi is running below the usual for this point in the year, at 39 % of the average: 295,757 hectares burned up to week 43, against an average of 760,482 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: very low (FWI 2), computed by WorldFires from the ECMWF IFS forecast.

## Suggested citation

WorldFires, “Wildfire briefing: Malawi”, https://worldfires.org/en/country/malawi/briefing (accessed 30 Oct 2026, 10:42 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. 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/malawi/briefing