# Wildfires in Malaysia in 2023

4 fires larger than 500 hectares in Malaysia in 2023, with 3,010 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, 41,233 hectares burned in Malaysia in 2023: 23% of the average of the other years from 2012 to 2024 (179,170 ha). (Copernicus GWIS)
- The worst week was 30 July to 5 August: 4,420 hectares burned in seven days, 11% of the year according to Copernicus GWIS. (Copernicus GWIS)
- The largest fire was the Telang Usan fire, which started on 31 July 2023 and burned 1,327 hectares: 44% of the area of the year's 4 fires with a page. (WorldFires)
- The day of highest danger at a fire this year was 22 April 2023: a Fire Weather Index of 4 (very low on the EFFIS scale) at the Pekan fire, calculated by WorldFires from ERA5. (WorldFires · ERA5)

## 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 | 1 | 619 |
| April | 1 | 564 |
| May | 0 | 0 |
| June | 1 | 500 |
| July | 1 | 1,327 |
| August | 0 | 0 |
| September | 0 | 0 |
| 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 2023 itself.

| Week | 2023 | That week | average | lowest and highest |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 1 (1 Jan–7 Jan) | 243 | 243 | 500 | 0–2,047 |
| 2 (8 Jan–14 Jan) | 243 | 0 | 810 | 0–3,523 |
| 3 (15 Jan–21 Jan) | 243 | 0 | 1,295 | 0–4,630 |
| 4 (22 Jan–28 Jan) | 400 | 157 | 3,038 | 0–9,647 |
| 5 (29 Jan–4 Feb) | 400 | 0 | 4,601 | 0–15,467 |
| 6 (5 Feb–11 Feb) | 400 | 0 | 6,857 | 146–27,436 |
| 7 (12 Feb–18 Feb) | 708 | 308 | 8,587 | 146–33,278 |
| 8 (19 Feb–25 Feb) | 866 | 158 | 13,779 | 146–65,918 |
| 9 (26 Feb–4 Mar) | 866 | 0 | 20,460 | 682–122,190 |
| 10 (5 Mar–11 Mar) | 2,130 | 1,264 | 28,771 | 1,699–185,024 |
| 11 (12 Mar–18 Mar) | 3,467 | 1,337 | 36,632 | 3,355–199,256 |
| 12 (19 Mar–25 Mar) | 4,413 | 946 | 42,315 | 3,355–214,106 |
| 13 (26 Mar–1 Apr) | 5,265 | 852 | 48,307 | 3,510–221,736 |
| 14 (2 Apr–8 Apr) | 6,556 | 1,291 | 54,545 | 3,510–231,695 |
| 15 (9 Apr–15 Apr) | 8,542 | 1,986 | 59,468 | 4,018–246,728 |
| 16 (16 Apr–22 Apr) | 10,876 | 2,334 | 65,222 | 4,689–255,846 |
| 17 (23 Apr–29 Apr) | 11,996 | 1,120 | 67,951 | 4,889–262,490 |
| 18 (30 Apr–6 May) | 12,386 | 390 | 71,490 | 5,323–270,664 |
| 19 (7 May–13 May) | 14,852 | 2,466 | 75,232 | 6,350–277,248 |
| 20 (14 May–20 May) | 16,260 | 1,408 | 77,732 | 6,832–278,760 |
| 21 (21 May–27 May) | 17,259 | 999 | 80,373 | 7,166–283,243 |
| 22 (28 May–3 Jun) | 19,466 | 2,207 | 82,118 | 8,409–285,871 |
| 23 (4 Jun–10 Jun) | 20,257 | 791 | 84,325 | 9,116–291,317 |
| 24 (11 Jun–17 Jun) | 20,487 | 230 | 88,667 | 9,600–296,306 |
| 25 (18 Jun–24 Jun) | 21,371 | 884 | 94,980 | 10,470–314,307 |
| 26 (25 Jun–1 Jul) | 23,525 | 2,154 | 98,108 | 10,792–321,153 |
| 27 (2 Jul–8 Jul) | 23,525 | 0 | 101,115 | 10,792–325,773 |
| 28 (9 Jul–15 Jul) | 23,821 | 296 | 103,170 | 11,029–327,541 |
| 29 (16 Jul–22 Jul) | 24,895 | 1,074 | 109,779 | 11,986–359,587 |
| 30 (23 Jul–29 Jul) | 29,259 | 4,364 | 117,960 | 12,964–393,308 |
| 31 (30 Jul–5 Aug) | 33,679 | 4,420 | 123,730 | 12,964–403,933 |
| 32 (6 Aug–12 Aug) | 34,669 | 990 | 128,824 | 15,074–407,589 |
| 33 (13 Aug–19 Aug) | 34,860 | 191 | 134,099 | 16,851–408,257 |
| 34 (20 Aug–26 Aug) | 34,860 | 0 | 137,690 | 17,464–411,405 |
| 35 (27 Aug–2 Sept) | 35,749 | 889 | 140,521 | 18,118–413,468 |
| 36 (3 Sept–9 Sept) | 36,553 | 804 | 143,308 | 18,118–417,281 |
| 37 (10 Sept–16 Sept) | 37,028 | 475 | 145,656 | 19,285–423,833 |
| 38 (17 Sept–23 Sept) | 37,367 | 339 | 148,806 | 21,196–430,329 |
| 39 (24 Sept–30 Sept) | 37,560 | 193 | 151,202 | 21,196–435,826 |
| 40 (1 Oct–7 Oct) | 37,820 | 260 | 152,566 | 21,374–438,073 |
| 41 (8 Oct–14 Oct) | 38,063 | 243 | 153,744 | 22,008–439,867 |
| 42 (15 Oct–21 Oct) | 38,063 | 0 | 154,827 | 22,008–443,473 |
| 43 (22 Oct–28 Oct) | 38,220 | 157 | 155,611 | 22,008–445,298 |
| 44 (29 Oct–4 Nov) | 38,345 | 125 | 156,456 | 22,008–447,171 |
| 45 (5 Nov–11 Nov) | 38,905 | 560 | 156,716 | 22,309–447,640 |
| 46 (12 Nov–18 Nov) | 39,265 | 360 | 157,053 | 22,309–448,113 |
| 47 (19 Nov–25 Nov) | 39,577 | 312 | 157,413 | 22,309–448,515 |
| 48 (26 Nov–2 Dec) | 39,764 | 187 | 157,686 | 22,588–448,861 |
| 49 (3 Dec–9 Dec) | 40,062 | 298 | 158,122 | 23,032–449,517 |
| 50 (10 Dec–16 Dec) | 40,543 | 481 | 158,514 | 23,294–452,378 |
| 51 (17 Dec–23 Dec) | 40,772 | 229 | 158,906 | 23,451–452,378 |
| 52 (24 Dec–30 Dec) | 41,233 | 461 | 159,154 | 23,451–452,615 |

## Largest recorded fires

- [Telang Usan fire, July 2023](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/telang-usan-2023-07.md) · 1,327 ha
- [Kudat fire, March 2023](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/kudat-2023-03.md) · 619 ha
- [Pekan fire, April 2023](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/pekan-2023-04.md) · 564 ha
- [Miri fire, June 2023](https://worldfires.org/en/fire/miri-2023-06.md) · 500 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 Malaysia in 2023”, https://worldfires.org/en/country/malaysia/2023 (accessed 15 November 2026). Sources: Copernicus GWIS, WorldFires, WorldFires · ERA5, 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/malaysia/2023