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Borgu fire, 12 January 2026 Borgu, Baruten, Kaiama

Out · last detection 5 Mar 2026, 01:17 UTC

The fire started on 12 January 2026 in Borgu, Nigeria, and satellites saw it burning for 52 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 78,532 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 municipalities.

This page is probably a fire complex, not a single fire. GWIS merges into one perimeter the fires that touch over weeks, which in large burning seasons can join dozens of separate fires. The total area is reliable; the origin and dates refer to the whole complex.

Other fire pages in the same area and on the same dates:

It is the 2th largest in Niger since 2016 (of 271 with a page). The largest in Nigeria in 2026, of 262.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Borgu · 2019Borgu · 2019Borgu · 2016Borgu · 2022

Burnt area
78,532ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
52days
12 Jan 2026 – 4 Mar 2026
Municipalities hit
3
local government areas
Started on
12 Jan
2026
Heat detections
2,683
in a single hotspot: 55 MW
Danger at start
45
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
265MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 12 Jan4 Mar
5 Mar 2026

How it evolved, day by day

12 Jan 2026 · 26 MW · 3 13 Jan 2026 · 35 MW · 6 14 Jan 2026 · 31 MW · 8 15 Jan 2026 · 10 MW · 8 16 Jan 2026 · 34 MW · 13 17 Jan 2026 · 58 MW · 15 18 Jan 2026 · 44 MW · 12 19 Jan 2026 · 51 MW · 13 20 Jan 2026 · 244 MW · 43 21 Jan 2026 · 60 MW · 22 22 Jan 2026 · 87 MW · 16 23 Jan 2026 · 71 MW · 27 24 Jan 2026 · 267 MW · 52 25 Jan 2026 · 615 MW · 92 26 Jan 2026 · 624 MW · 170 27 Jan 2026 · 400 MW · 101 28 Jan 2026 · 252 MW · 66 29 Jan 2026 · 462 MW · 66 30 Jan 2026 · 128 MW · 50 31 Jan 2026 · 86 MW · 26 1 Feb 2026 · 102 MW · 20 2 Feb 2026 · 260 MW · 56 3 Feb 2026 · 3 MW · 5 4 Feb 2026 · 590 MW · 127 5 Feb 2026 · 500 MW · 65 6 Feb 2026 · 176 MW · 78 7 Feb 2026 · 16 MW · 3 8 Feb 2026 · 114 MW · 28 11 Feb 2026 · 5 MW · 3 12 Feb 2026 · 3 MW · 1 14 Feb 2026 · 55 MW · 14 15 Feb 2026 · 312 MW · 36 16 Feb 2026 · 1,364 MW · 142 17 Feb 2026 · 531 MW · 179 18 Feb 2026 · 447 MW · 116 19 Feb 2026 · 617 MW · 134 20 Feb 2026 · 590 MW · 96 21 Feb 2026 · 439 MW · 97 22 Feb 2026 · 460 MW · 117 23 Feb 2026 · 725 MW · 116 24 Feb 2026 · 785 MW · 114 25 Feb 2026 · 421 MW · 75 26 Feb 2026 · 498 MW · 86 27 Feb 2026 · 114 MW · 59 28 Feb 2026 · 80 MW · 34 1 Mar 2026 · 171 MW · 20 2 Mar 2026 · 111 MW · 13 3 Mar 2026 · 74 MW · 15 4 Mar 2026 · 103 MW · 23 5 Mar 2026 · 1 MW · 1
12 Jan 20 Jan 28 Jan 5 Feb 16 Feb 24 Feb 4 Mar

Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.

The weather it burned in

39°high
38km/h · peak gust
5%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

56% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 11,916 ha in 2016, 11,541 ha in 2017, 10,914 ha in 2018, 17,424 ha in 2019, 9,136 ha in 2020, 4,622 ha in 2021, 5,300 ha in 2022, 1,852 ha in 2023, 638 ha in 2024, 116 ha in 2025. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 44,168 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 50% of the area of London (785 km² against 1,583 km²).

London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).

This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.

What happened to each town

  1. Borgu where it started
    39,632 ha reached on 12 Jan
    3.7 %
  2. Baruten
    22,724 ha reached on 16 Jan
    2.6 %
  3. Kaiama
    15,968 ha reached on 18 Jan
    2.0 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance runs from the point marking the centre of each area to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.

People and buildings inside the perimeter

GHSL 2025
Built-up area5.4 ha
Residents≈ 500

Inside the perimeter there were about 5.4 hectares of built-up land and about 500 residents (GHSL 2025, satellite-based estimate).

This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.

Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu

The weather day by day

ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
12 Jan 34.7 °C 17 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
13 Jan 35.2 °C 15 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
14 Jan 34.6 °C 15 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
15 Jan 34.5 °C 14 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
16 Jan 35.1 °C 17 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
17 Jan 35.7 °C 17 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
18 Jan 35.8 °C 23 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
19 Jan 36.8 °C 13 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
20 Jan 36.0 °C 10 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
21 Jan 33.2 °C 14 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
22 Jan 32.0 °C 13 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
23 Jan 33.9 °C 9 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
24 Jan 36.4 °C 12 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
25 Jan 35.8 °C 10 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
26 Jan 35.0 °C 9 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
27 Jan 34.4 °C 15 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
28 Jan 35.2 °C 16 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
29 Jan 35.8 °C 12 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
30 Jan 36.4 °C 8 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
31 Jan 37.8 °C 16 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
1 Feb 38.2 °C 15 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
2 Feb 38.9 °C 5 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
3 Feb 38.5 °C 11 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
4 Feb 38.5 °C 14 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
5 Feb 39.1 °C 11 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
6 Feb 38.3 °C 18 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
7 Feb 38.3 °C 16 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
8 Feb 38.8 °C 17 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
9 Feb 38.6 °C 20 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
10 Feb 38.2 °C 21 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
11 Feb 38.9 °C 22 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
12 Feb 38.6 °C 24 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
13 Feb 37.6 °C 26 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
14 Feb 35.5 °C 27 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
15 Feb 39.2 °C 14 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
16 Feb 37.9 °C 8 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
17 Feb 34.2 °C 8 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
18 Feb 33.9 °C 9 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
19 Feb 35.3 °C 9 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
20 Feb 36.3 °C 11 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
21 Feb 36.4 °C 11 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
22 Feb 38.0 °C 11 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
23 Feb 37.0 °C 11 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
24 Feb 35.9 °C 10 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
25 Feb 36.2 °C 14 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
26 Feb 36.9 °C 14 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
27 Feb 37.2 °C 13 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
28 Feb 37.4 °C 12 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
1 Mar 37.6 °C 12 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56
2 Mar 37.4 °C 16 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
3 Mar 38.2 °C 15 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
4 Mar 38.8 °C 17 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
5 Mar after 37.0 °C 25 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
6 Mar after 39.0 °C 17 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
7 Mar after 39.7 °C 19 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
8 Mar after 40.5 °C 14 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
9 Mar after 40.7 °C 18 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
10 Mar after 40.9 °C 20 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
11 Mar after 38.7 °C 26 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
12 Mar after 39.5 °C 28 % 31 km/h 0.7 mm Very high 39
13 Mar after 38.7 °C 28 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
14 Mar after 39.7 °C 20 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47

Before and after, from space

Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.

Before · 5 Jan 2026
After · 11 Mar 2026

If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.

The smoke

CAMS · Copernicus

On 17 February 2026 the air beside the fire reached 164 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 123: 8.2 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak164 µg/m³
Days over the guideline55 days
PM10877 µg/m³
Optical depth1.90
10111213141516171819202122232425262728293031123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627281234567
Good Fair Moderate Poor Very poor Extremely poor

Particles from the Copernicus CAMS model at the centre of the perimeter; these are not measurements in each town. The pale bar is the worst hour, the solid one the daily average.

Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)

Detections table · 2,683Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
⬇ Download CSV Times in UTC. Each detection is a 375 m pixel: a large fire yields hundreds per pass.
Date and timeSatelliteFRP (MW)LatLon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Nigeria ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Borgu fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 12 January 2026 and 4 March 2026: 52 days between the first and last heat detection of the perimeter.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 78,532 hectares (785.3 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Borgu (39,632 ha, 3.7 %); Baruten (22,724 ha, 2.6 %); Kaiama (15,968 ha, 2.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 39.2 °C, humidity dropped to 5 % and gusts hit 38 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 60, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Nigeria (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.

Where to verify it

A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.

Emergency number: 112 · Emergency number and official warnings ›

Satellite cross-check

History of this page Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.

No changes since 24 October 2026.

RSS Changes to this page

Does something look wrong on this page?

This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.

Report an error
What do you think is wrong?

We will only use your email to reply about this report. Privacy. This is not an emergency service: if there is a fire now, call 112.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 15 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates from the perimeter: the VIIRS detections inside it did not change them. 2,683 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
  • We have not matched this page with any official record.
  • Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
  • Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2025, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.

How we build fire pages: methodology ›

Where this data comes from

The perimeter comes from the Copernicus Global Wildfire Information System (GWIS), which rebuilds it from MODIS and VIIRS heat detections and publishes it under CC BY 4.0. It is not measured on imagery as in Europe, so it is an estimate. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Municipal boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM2 (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ from each country’s official figure.