How long did the Merauke fire last?

According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 1 August 2026 to 2 November 2026 (94 days). The perimeter dates it from 8 August 2026 to 1 November 2026.

How much area did it burn?

The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 28,360 hectares (283.6 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.

Which municipalities burned?

The fire only entered Merauke (26,767 ha, 0.6 %).

Is the Merauke fire still active?

Yes: satellites detected fire on 2 Nov 2026, 16:24 UTC. Check the emergency service for the official status.

What was the weather like?

During the fire the temperature reached 37.7 °C, humidity dropped to 18 % and gusts hit 52 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 0, class Very low.

Where does this data come from?

From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Indonesia (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.

ID · Indonesia · 2026-08-01 → 2026-11-02

Merauke fire, 1 August 2026 Merauke

Burning · last detection 2 Nov 2026, 16:24 UTC

The fire started on 1 August 2026 in Merauke, Indonesia, and satellites saw it burning for 94 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 28,360 hectares from heat detections, spread across a single municipality.

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 5th largest in Papua since 2016 (of 356 with a page). Number 42 in Indonesia in 2026, of 1025.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Merauke · 2026 Merauke · 2026 Merauke · 2026 Merauke · 2026

Is it still active?

Satellites detected fire on 2 Nov 2026, 16:24 UTC. Everything suggests it is still burning. Satellites pass a few times a day and cloud or smoke can hide the fire: a lack of detections is not an official extinction. Each country’s emergency service declares a fire contained or out.

Burnt area: 28,360ha; GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration: 94days; 1 Aug 2026 – 2 Nov 2026
Municipalities hit: 1; regencies
Started on: 1 Aug; 2026
Heat detections: 1,719; in a single hotspot: 189 MW
Average daily power: 118MW; detected power per day, on average

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 1 Aug2 Nov

Play back 2 Nov 2026

How it evolved, day by day

1 Aug 18 Aug 2 Sept 11 Sept 15 Sept 28 Sept 10 Oct 22 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

38°high

52km/h · peak gust

18%lowest humidity

It had gone 0 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started. Rain came after the fire: 1.3 mm on 3 Nov.

This area had burned before

35% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 22 ha in 2017, 5,234 ha in 2018, 2,817 ha in 2019, 888 ha in 2020, 6,188 ha in 2023, 6 ha in 2024. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 10,003 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

It burned the equivalent of 18% of the area of London (284 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

Merauke where it started

26,767 ha reached on 1 Aug

0.6 %

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) · forecast models, provisional until the ERA5 reanalysis arrives

Day	High	Min. humidity	Peak gust	Rain	Danger (FWI)
3 Aug	31.8 °C	50 %	10 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
4 Aug	31.8 °C	50 %	10 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
5 Aug	31.6 °C	35 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
6 Aug	31.4 °C	41 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
7 Aug	31.3 °C	51 %	30 km/h	0.2 mm	fwi. 0
8 Aug	31.1 °C	49 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
9 Aug	32.1 °C	53 %	38 km/h	3.0 mm	fwi. 0
10 Aug	32.2 °C	47 %	29 km/h	1.6 mm	fwi. 0
11 Aug	33.6 °C	39 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
12 Aug	33.7 °C	45 %	32 km/h	0.2 mm	fwi. 0
13 Aug	33.0 °C	45 %	37 km/h	0.6 mm	fwi. 0
14 Aug	33.7 °C	37 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
15 Aug	33.6 °C	35 %	38 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
16 Aug	33.3 °C	32 %	42 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
17 Aug	32.3 °C	35 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
18 Aug	32.2 °C	37 %	44 km/h	0.1 mm	fwi. 0
19 Aug	32.6 °C	37 %	41 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
20 Aug	33.0 °C	32 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
21 Aug	32.0 °C	35 %	36 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
22 Aug	32.1 °C	36 %	35 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
23 Aug	32.8 °C	34 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
24 Aug	33.1 °C	41 %	32 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
25 Aug	32.5 °C	44 %	37 km/h	0.1 mm	fwi. 0
26 Aug	32.3 °C	47 %	37 km/h	1.5 mm	fwi. 0
27 Aug	33.3 °C	50 %	34 km/h	2.1 mm	fwi. 0
28 Aug	33.4 °C	47 %	45 km/h	3.8 mm	fwi. 0
29 Aug	31.6 °C	51 %	47 km/h	1.9 mm	fwi. 0
30 Aug	32.4 °C	45 %	41 km/h	2.5 mm	fwi. 0
31 Aug	30.4 °C	56 %	40 km/h	2.3 mm	fwi. 0
1 Sept	32.2 °C	48 %	41 km/h	1.3 mm	fwi. 0
2 Sept	32.7 °C	41 %	38 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
3 Sept	33.9 °C	40 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
4 Sept	35.3 °C	32 %	38 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
5 Sept	32.9 °C	40 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
6 Sept	33.9 °C	41 %	40 km/h	0.1 mm	fwi. 0
7 Sept	33.5 °C	40 %	39 km/h	0.3 mm	fwi. 0
8 Sept	34.4 °C	35 %	42 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
9 Sept	34.1 °C	37 %	44 km/h	0.3 mm	fwi. 0
10 Sept	34.7 °C	26 %	45 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
11 Sept	33.4 °C	26 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
12 Sept	33.5 °C	32 %	43 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
13 Sept	33.4 °C	39 %	37 km/h	1.0 mm	fwi. 0
14 Sept	31.4 °C	46 %	43 km/h	0.1 mm	fwi. 0
15 Sept	31.5 °C	43 %	44 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
16 Sept	32.9 °C	43 %	41 km/h	1.0 mm	fwi. 0
17 Sept	33.6 °C	35 %	41 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
18 Sept	34.3 °C	40 %	52 km/h	0.8 mm	fwi. 0
19 Sept	32.2 °C	44 %	51 km/h	0.2 mm	fwi. 0
20 Sept	31.9 °C	42 %	43 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
21 Sept	33.5 °C	41 %	35 km/h	0.1 mm	fwi. 0
22 Sept	33.4 °C	40 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
23 Sept	33.6 °C	37 %	42 km/h	0.1 mm	fwi. 0
24 Sept	35.1 °C	36 %	37 km/h	1.4 mm	fwi. 0
25 Sept	35.6 °C	33 %	41 km/h	0.2 mm	fwi. 0
26 Sept	35.6 °C	30 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
27 Sept	35.5 °C	32 %	47 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
28 Sept	35.1 °C	31 %	46 km/h	0.1 mm	fwi. 0
29 Sept	35.6 °C	33 %	40 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
30 Sept	35.5 °C	33 %	40 km/h	0.2 mm	fwi. 0
1 Oct	35.0 °C	39 %	46 km/h	1.2 mm	fwi. 0
2 Oct	35.1 °C	31 %	48 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
3 Oct	34.1 °C	33 %	41 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
4 Oct	35.2 °C	31 %	38 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
5 Oct	36.3 °C	27 %	34 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
6 Oct	37.7 °C	24 %	41 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
7 Oct	36.9 °C	31 %	41 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
8 Oct	37.1 °C	24 %	44 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
9 Oct	36.4 °C	33 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
10 Oct	37.0 °C	26 %	33 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
11 Oct	37.7 °C	18 %	36 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
12 Oct	37.0 °C	27 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
13 Oct	36.2 °C	35 %	46 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
14 Oct	36.4 °C	36 %	42 km/h	0.7 mm	fwi. 0
15 Oct	35.5 °C	40 %	39 km/h	1.6 mm	fwi. 0
16 Oct	36.7 °C	29 %	38 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
17 Oct	36.5 °C	33 %	45 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
18 Oct	36.6 °C	31 %	44 km/h	0.2 mm	fwi. 0
19 Oct	36.2 °C	35 %	42 km/h	0.3 mm	fwi. 0
20 Oct	37.5 °C	29 %	37 km/h	0.0 mm	fwi. 0
21 Oct	37.5 °C	34 %	48 km/h	0.2 mm	fwi. 0
22 Oct	36.5 °C	39 %	45 km/h	1.6 mm	fwi. 0
23 Oct	36.0 °C	40 %	31 km/h	2.7 mm	fwi. 0
24 Oct	36.8 °C	40 %	45 km/h	1.1 mm	fwi. 0
25 Oct	36.1 °C	44 %	38 km/h	0.7 mm	fwi. 0
26 Oct	36.3 °C	39 %	42 km/h	1.2 mm	fwi. 0
27 Oct	36.8 °C	36 %	43 km/h	1.1 mm	fwi. 0
28 Oct	36.1 °C	39 %	40 km/h	0.6 mm	fwi. 0
29 Oct	36.2 °C	46 %	38 km/h	2.4 mm	fwi. 0
30 Oct	37.0 °C	40 %	46 km/h	1.9 mm	fwi. 0
31 Oct	36.7 °C	38 %	42 km/h	1.7 mm	fwi. 0
1 Nov	35.7 °C	40 %	41 km/h	1.9 mm	fwi. 0
2 Nov	35.3 °C	43 %	28 km/h	3.5 mm	fwi. 0
3 Nov after	35.3 °C	42 %	39 km/h	1.3 mm	fwi. 0

Before and after, from space

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

↔

Before · 25 Jul 2026

After · 2 Nov 2026

Before After

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 23 August 2026 the air beside the fire reached 136 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 66: 4.4 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak136 µg/m³

Days over the guideline51 days

PM10142 µg/m³

Optical depth2.47

WHO 15

67891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303112345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293012

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 · 1,719Every 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 time	Satellite	FRP (MW)	Lat	Lon

Other fires nearby

All fires in Indonesia ›

Frequently asked questions

How long did the Merauke fire last?: According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 1 August 2026 to 2 November 2026 (94 days). The perimeter dates it from 8 August 2026 to 1 November 2026.
How much area did it burn?: The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 28,360 hectares (283.6 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?: The fire only entered Merauke (26,767 ha, 0.6 %).
Is the Merauke fire still active?: Yes: satellites detected fire on 2 Nov 2026, 16:24 UTC. Check the emergency service for the official status.
What was the weather like?: During the fire the temperature reached 37.7 °C, humidity dropped to 18 % and gusts hit 52 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 0, class Very low.
Where does this data come from?: From the GWIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Indonesia (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

NASA FIRMS ↗
GWIS · Copernicus ↗

History of this page · 1 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.

29 October 2026 Area: 26,562 → 28,134 ha.

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?

Dates or duration Place or towns Burned area Name It was not a wildfire Same fire as another page Something else

What really happened?

Your connection to the fire (optional) Email (optional)

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; 8 polygons grouped in this page.
Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 8 August 2026 to 1 November 2026. 1,719 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
We have not matched this page with any official record.
Weather: ECMWF IFS model, provisional until the ERA5 reanalysis arrives. No FWI: there are fewer than 30 days of data before the start.

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 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.