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Mayom fire, 12 November 2025 Mayom, Abiemnhom, Twic

Out · last detection 26 Dec 2025, 12:15 UTC

The fire started on 12 November 2025 in Mayom, South Sudan, and satellites saw it burning for 44 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 33,183 hectares from heat detections, spread across 3 municipalities.

It is the 2th largest in Unity since 2016 (of 85 with a page). Number 29 in South Sudan in 2025, of 292.

Burnt area
33,183ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
44days
12 Nov 2025 – 25 Dec 2025
Municipalities hit
3
counties
Started on
12 Nov
2025
Heat detections
1,631
in a single hotspot: 171 MW
Danger at start
24
High · FWI index
Energy released
12.3GW
sum of detected power

Where it burned

26 Dec 2025
HOTSPOTS BY DAY 12 Nov25 Dec

How it evolved, day by day

14151617181920212223242526272829301234567911121314151617181920212223242526

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

The weather it burned in

37°high
36km/h · peak gust
9%lowest humidity

It had gone 16 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

18% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 722 ha in 2016, 804 ha in 2018, 2,621 ha in 2020, 113 ha in 2021, 565 ha in 2023, 1,984 ha in 2024. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 6,048 ha that had burned before.

What happened to each town

  1. Mayom where it started
    16,791 ha reached on 6 Nov
    3.9 %
  2. Abiemnhom
    15,350 ha reached on 14 Nov
    6.3 %
  3. Twic
    1,258 ha reached on 11 Dec
    0.3 %

Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the GWIS perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance is from the town centre 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)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
6 Nov 35.2 °C 25 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm High 24
7 Nov 36.3 °C 19 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm High 28
8 Nov 35.6 °C 15 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 33
9 Nov 35.4 °C 16 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
10 Nov 35.4 °C 22 % 17 km/h 0.0 mm High 31
11 Nov 36.1 °C 23 % 19 km/h 0.0 mm High 32
12 Nov 36.7 °C 21 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm High 35
13 Nov 36.3 °C 22 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm High 36
14 Nov 35.4 °C 15 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
15 Nov 33.4 °C 16 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
16 Nov 32.8 °C 17 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
17 Nov 34.0 °C 17 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
18 Nov 35.4 °C 21 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
19 Nov 36.1 °C 21 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
20 Nov 35.3 °C 19 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 39
21 Nov 35.6 °C 18 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
22 Nov 35.9 °C 19 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
23 Nov 35.8 °C 22 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm High 37
24 Nov 36.3 °C 21 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 40
25 Nov 36.2 °C 21 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
26 Nov 36.0 °C 15 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
27 Nov 35.9 °C 15 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
28 Nov 36.2 °C 16 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
29 Nov 36.4 °C 18 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
30 Nov 36.6 °C 18 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
1 Dec 36.6 °C 19 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
2 Dec 36.5 °C 20 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
3 Dec 36.0 °C 20 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
4 Dec 36.0 °C 18 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 42
5 Dec 36.7 °C 17 % 24 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
6 Dec 37.0 °C 16 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
7 Dec 35.9 °C 19 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
8 Dec 35.6 °C 25 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 41
9 Dec 35.4 °C 18 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
10 Dec 34.4 °C 16 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
11 Dec 34.2 °C 17 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 44
12 Dec 34.7 °C 17 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
13 Dec 34.4 °C 14 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
14 Dec 34.4 °C 19 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
15 Dec 33.9 °C 15 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
16 Dec 32.3 °C 15 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
17 Dec 32.6 °C 15 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
18 Dec 32.5 °C 14 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
19 Dec 33.9 °C 15 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
20 Dec 33.7 °C 18 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
21 Dec 34.1 °C 14 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
22 Dec 34.1 °C 15 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
23 Dec 35.3 °C 16 % 25 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
24 Dec 35.7 °C 18 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
25 Dec 36.7 °C 16 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
26 Dec after 36.1 °C 18 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
27 Dec after 36.2 °C 17 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
28 Dec after 34.9 °C 12 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
29 Dec after 35.2 °C 10 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
30 Dec after 34.2 °C 9 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
31 Dec after 33.1 °C 11 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
1 Jan after 34.9 °C 11 % 28 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
2 Jan after 36.2 °C 15 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
3 Jan after 35.3 °C 12 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
4 Jan after 35.9 °C 15 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
5 Jan after 35.6 °C 15 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
6 Jan after 35.7 °C 16 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
7 Jan after 35.8 °C 16 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
8 Jan after 37.2 °C 16 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 50
9 Jan after 37.3 °C 15 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
10 Jan after 35.2 °C 16 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
11 Jan after 35.4 °C 17 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 5 Nov 2025
After · 1 Jan 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 10 December 2025 the air beside the fire reached 106 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 72: 4.8 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak106 µg/m³
Days over the guideline46 days
PM10218 µg/m³
Optical depth0.55
10111213141516171819202122232425262728293012345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728
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 · 1,631Every 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 South Sudan ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Mayom fire last?
GWIS (Copernicus) dates it between 12 November 2025 and 25 December 2025: 44 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 33,183 hectares (331.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 3 municipalities: Mayom (16,791 ha, 3.9 %); Abiemnhom (15,350 ha, 6.3 %); Twic (1,258 ha, 0.3 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 37.0 °C, humidity dropped to 9 % and gusts hit 36 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 54, class Extreme.
Where does this data come from?
From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of South Sudan (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.

Satellite cross-check

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.

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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 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). 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.