Skip to content
worldfires
en
ZM · Zambia · –

Luwingu fire, 7 September 2020 Lunte, Luwingu, Kawambwa

Out · last detection 4 Oct 2020, 23:03 UTC

The fire started on 7 September 2020 in Luwingu, Zambia, and satellites saw it burning for 28 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 16,002 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 municipalities.

It is the 19th largest in Northern since 2016 (of 437 with a page). Number 23 in Zambia in 2020, of 229.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Kawambwa · 2023Chipili · 2023Lunte · 2017Lunte · 2018

Burnt area
16,002ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
28days
7 Sept 2020 – 4 Oct 2020
Municipalities hit
3
districts
Started on
7 Sept
2020
Heat detections
481
in a single hotspot: 144 MW
Danger at start
40
Very high · FWI index
Average daily power
490MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 7 Sept4 Oct
4 Oct 2020

How it evolved, day by day

7 Sept 2020 · 47 MW · 2 8 Sept 2020 · 57 MW · 2 9 Sept 2020 · 17 MW · 3 11 Sept 2020 · 32 MW · 4 14 Sept 2020 · 39 MW · 1 15 Sept 2020 · 124 MW · 7 16 Sept 2020 · 15 MW · 4 17 Sept 2020 · 6,425 MW · 201 18 Sept 2020 · 2,347 MW · 89 19 Sept 2020 · 510 MW · 36 20 Sept 2020 · 251 MW · 18 21 Sept 2020 · 177 MW · 9 22 Sept 2020 · 262 MW · 26 23 Sept 2020 · 169 MW · 23 24 Sept 2020 · 222 MW · 17 25 Sept 2020 · 127 MW · 5 26 Sept 2020 · 66 MW · 6 27 Sept 2020 · 7 MW · 2 29 Sept 2020 · 9 MW · 2 30 Sept 2020 · 78 MW · 7 1 Oct 2020 · 91 MW · 2 2 Oct 2020 · 58 MW · 5 4 Oct 2020 · 132 MW · 10
7 Sept 17 Sept 25 Sept 1 Oct

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

The weather it burned in

33°high
49km/h · peak gust
16%lowest humidity

It had gone more than two months without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 2.6 mm on 9 Oct.

This area had burned before

91% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 4,301 ha in 2016, 8,011 ha in 2017, 8,891 ha in 2018, 4,723 ha in 2019. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 14,586 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 10% of the area of London (160 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. Lunte
    13,882 ha
    1.8 %
  2. Luwingu where it started
    2,178 ha
    0.4 %
  3. Kawambwa
    48 ha
    0.0 %

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.

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)

Started with 60 days without rain: 91 % of the area in Zambia

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
7 Sept 27.2 °C 25 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
8 Sept 27.3 °C 20 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
9 Sept 26.3 °C 23 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
10 Sept 26.7 °C 27 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
11 Sept 27.8 °C 25 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
12 Sept 26.9 °C 30 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
13 Sept 27.3 °C 35 % 46 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
14 Sept 28.6 °C 27 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
15 Sept 29.3 °C 28 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
16 Sept 30.0 °C 22 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
17 Sept 31.2 °C 22 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
18 Sept 30.5 °C 22 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
19 Sept 30.1 °C 23 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
20 Sept 30.7 °C 24 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
21 Sept 31.4 °C 21 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
22 Sept 30.7 °C 23 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
23 Sept 29.0 °C 25 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
24 Sept 29.1 °C 25 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
25 Sept 30.1 °C 25 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm High 38
26 Sept 30.5 °C 26 % 23 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
27 Sept 32.6 °C 20 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
28 Sept 29.1 °C 37 % 31 km/h 0.2 mm High 27
29 Sept 31.7 °C 20 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
30 Sept 29.4 °C 32 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm High 34
1 Oct 30.1 °C 24 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
2 Oct 32.2 °C 19 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
3 Oct 31.3 °C 21 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
4 Oct 32.0 °C 16 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
5 Oct after 32.7 °C 14 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
6 Oct after 31.8 °C 17 % 38 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
7 Oct after 32.6 °C 23 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
8 Oct after 30.3 °C 27 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
9 Oct after 28.5 °C 38 % 29 km/h 2.6 mm High 34

Its twins: fires that started in the same weather

It started with an FWI of 40.2, a minimum humidity of 25% and more than two months without rain. Fires in the area that started in weather like this since 2016: 66.

FWI at the start 40.2
Minimum humidity 25 %
Days without rain 60+
this fire chosen twins rest of the area
Almost identicalSimilar

Outlines of the closest twins

Kawambwa fire, August 2023
3,283 ha 13 days FWI 40.1 Min. humidity 25 % 87 km away, in 2023

First rain (1 mm or more) after it ended: none in the following ten days.

See its page Compare with this fire

What happened to them

19 days
median duration
5,281 ha
median area
30 %
went past 10,000 ha
2.0 mm
rain at the end (median; 16 of 66 had it)

It was 3.0 times larger than the median of its twins and lasted 28 days, against 19 days.

Only 16 of its 66 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 50 of 66, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 2.0 mm.

This is a bank of analogues: it shows what usually happens, not what will happen. With fewer than 15 twins we give no figures. How we calculate it

How it ended

2.6 mmfirst rain
9 Oct5 days after it ended
49km/h · max. gust

It was considered over on 4 Oct, and on 9 Oct 2.6 mm fell. We do not know whether the rain or the firefighters put it out. Twins with rain when they ended: 16 of 66, with a median of 2.0 mm.

Weather on this page: Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)

How a twin is chosen

  • Same area: fires that have already ended, less than 250 km from this one, since 2016.
  • Same start: we compare the FWI on the first day, the minimum humidity that day and the run of days without rain before it. The slider sets how much they may differ.
  • Only pages with final weather data (ERA5 reanalysis) calculated in the same way as this fire’s; agricultural and grass burns and pages with data under review are left out.
  • Fires burning at the same time as this one (a week before or after) are left out: they share the same spell of weather and do not count as a precedent.
  • They are sorted by similarity, and the outlines of the first five are drawn.

How we calculate it

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 31 Aug 2020
After · 11 Oct 2020

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

Detections table · 481Every 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 Zambia

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Luwingu fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 7 September 2020 to 4 October 2020 (28 days). The perimeter dates it from 14 September 2020 to 27 September 2020.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 16,002 hectares (160.0 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Lunte (13,882 ha, 1.8 %); Luwingu (2,178 ha, 0.4 %); Kawambwa (48 ha, 0.0 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 32.6 °C, humidity dropped to 16 % and gusts hit 49 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 62, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Zambia (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.
How did the fires that started in similar weather in this area end?
Fires less than 250 km away that started since 2016 with a similar FWI, humidity and dry spell: 66. Their median duration was 19 days and their median area 5,281 ha; 30 % went past 10,000 ha. Only 16 of its 66 twins burned more. The weather on the first day does not explain everything: the wind in the following days, the fuel and the firefighting also count. In 50 of 66, not even 1 mm fell in the ten days after the end: they went out without rain. In the rest, the first rainy day brought a median of 2.0 mm.

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.

Satellite cross-check

History of this page · 3 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Name: Lunte → Luwingu.
  2. Last day with fire: 27 September 2020 → 4 October 2020.
  3. Start date: 14 September 2020 → 7 September 2020.

RSS Changes to this page With cross-checks and a citable version

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.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 14 September 2020 to 27 September 2020. 481 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.

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 (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.