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ID · Indonesia · –

Merauke fire, 23 August 2026 Merauke

Dying down · last detection 10 Nov 2026, 04:29 UTC

The fire started on 23 August 2026 in Merauke, Indonesia, and satellites saw it burning for 80 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 12,480 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:

We are reviewing this page: some of its data look inconsistent (the place, the dates or the area), so treat them with caution.

GWIS near-real-time perimeter, from the layer that changed in October 2025: this fire is not compared with fires from earlier years, because since then the GWIS layer gives more and larger perimeters.

Is it still active?

No detections since 10 Nov 2026, 04:29 UTC. That usually means no flame is visible from space any more, although hotspots may remain. 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
12,480ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
80days
23 Aug 2026 – 10 Nov 2026
Municipalities hit
1
regencies
Started on
23 Aug
2026
Heat detections
739
in a single hotspot: 86 MW
Average daily power
67MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 23 Aug10 Nov
10 Nov 2026

How it evolved, day by day

23 Aug 2026 · 48 MW · 8 24 Aug 2026 · 40 MW · 9 25 Aug 2026 · 9 MW · 2 26 Aug 2026 · 22 MW · 6 27 Aug 2026 · 150 MW · 19 29 Aug 2026 · 4 MW · 1 30 Aug 2026 · 39 MW · 6 31 Aug 2026 · 16 MW · 2 1 Sept 2026 · 101 MW · 14 2 Sept 2026 · 122 MW · 15 3 Sept 2026 · 90 MW · 11 4 Sept 2026 · 107 MW · 20 5 Sept 2026 · 41 MW · 7 6 Sept 2026 · 91 MW · 17 7 Sept 2026 · 56 MW · 9 8 Sept 2026 · 21 MW · 4 9 Sept 2026 · 40 MW · 9 10 Sept 2026 · 144 MW · 25 11 Sept 2026 · 178 MW · 35 12 Sept 2026 · 61 MW · 9 13 Sept 2026 · 35 MW · 13 14 Sept 2026 · 21 MW · 4 15 Sept 2026 · 96 MW · 11 16 Sept 2026 · 121 MW · 20 17 Sept 2026 · 81 MW · 16 18 Sept 2026 · 51 MW · 5 20 Sept 2026 · 4 MW · 2 21 Sept 2026 · 339 MW · 30 22 Sept 2026 · 235 MW · 32 23 Sept 2026 · 86 MW · 20 24 Sept 2026 · 73 MW · 17 25 Sept 2026 · 93 MW · 18 26 Sept 2026 · 59 MW · 13 27 Sept 2026 · 49 MW · 13 28 Sept 2026 · 44 MW · 9 29 Sept 2026 · 29 MW · 8 30 Sept 2026 · 21 MW · 4 1 Oct 2026 · 79 MW · 13 2 Oct 2026 · 89 MW · 24 3 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 4 Oct 2026 · 16 MW · 3 5 Oct 2026 · 10 MW · 2 6 Oct 2026 · 25 MW · 11 7 Oct 2026 · 69 MW · 16 8 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 9 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 10 Oct 2026 · 20 MW · 5 11 Oct 2026 · 111 MW · 20 12 Oct 2026 · 73 MW · 18 13 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 14 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 16 Oct 2026 · 25 MW · 5 17 Oct 2026 · 41 MW · 8 18 Oct 2026 · 58 MW · 14 19 Oct 2026 · 177 MW · 20 20 Oct 2026 · 20 MW · 3 21 Oct 2026 · 6 MW · 1 22 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 23 Oct 2026 · 5 MW · 1 24 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 25 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 26 Oct 2026 · 26 MW · 4 27 Oct 2026 · 17 MW · 5 28 Oct 2026 · 124 MW · 26 29 Oct 2026 · 19 MW · 7 30 Oct 2026 · 0 MW · 0 31 Oct 2026 · 19 MW · 4 1 Nov 2026 · 0 MW · 0 2 Nov 2026 · 65 MW · 16 3 Nov 2026 · 44 MW · 10 4 Nov 2026 · 92 MW · 15 5 Nov 2026 · 172 MW · 21 6 Nov 2026 · 0 MW · 0 7 Nov 2026 · 0 MW · 0 10 Nov 2026 · 12 MW · 4
23 Aug 8 Sept 21 Sept 9 Oct 25 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

35°high
62km/h · peak gust
39%lowest humidity

It had gone 4 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

100% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 3,607 ha in 2017, 13,423 ha in 2018, 21,209 ha in 2019, 2,557 ha in 2020, 32,642 ha in 2023, 12,094 ha in 2024, 86 ha in 2025. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 18,186 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 7.9% of the area of London (125 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. Merauke where it started
    20,407 ha reached on 23 Aug
    0.5 %

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 area< 0.1 ha
Residents< 20

Inside the perimeter there was no noticeable built-up land and almost nobody lived there (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) · forecast models, provisional until the ERA5 reanalysis arrives

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
23 Aug 29.7 °C 50 % 47 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
24 Aug 29.3 °C 58 % 41 km/h 1.2 mm fwi. 0
25 Aug 28.7 °C 61 % 44 km/h 1.8 mm fwi. 0
26 Aug 29.4 °C 60 % 55 km/h 1.1 mm fwi. 0
27 Aug 30.3 °C 60 % 49 km/h 0.5 mm fwi. 0
28 Aug 31.1 °C 58 % 52 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
29 Aug 29.8 °C 58 % 57 km/h 1.3 mm fwi. 0
30 Aug 30.1 °C 52 % 51 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
31 Aug 28.5 °C 61 % 50 km/h 2.2 mm fwi. 0
1 Sept 30.0 °C 55 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
2 Sept 30.7 °C 51 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
3 Sept 30.6 °C 56 % 46 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
4 Sept 31.1 °C 56 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
5 Sept 30.5 °C 60 % 47 km/h 1.0 mm fwi. 0
6 Sept 31.7 °C 50 % 41 km/h 0.5 mm fwi. 0
7 Sept 29.8 °C 59 % 41 km/h 2.2 mm fwi. 0
8 Sept 30.7 °C 55 % 41 km/h 0.9 mm fwi. 0
9 Sept 31.5 °C 54 % 38 km/h 2.3 mm fwi. 0
10 Sept 32.0 °C 44 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
11 Sept 30.4 °C 50 % 53 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
12 Sept 30.2 °C 49 % 50 km/h 1.2 mm fwi. 0
13 Sept 30.1 °C 49 % 55 km/h 0.4 mm fwi. 0
14 Sept 29.4 °C 57 % 57 km/h 1.4 mm fwi. 0
15 Sept 30.2 °C 50 % 54 km/h 0.4 mm fwi. 0
16 Sept 30.2 °C 53 % 49 km/h 0.7 mm fwi. 0
17 Sept 30.4 °C 55 % 54 km/h 1.1 mm fwi. 0
18 Sept 30.4 °C 54 % 62 km/h 0.5 mm fwi. 0
19 Sept 30.1 °C 57 % 62 km/h 0.3 mm fwi. 0
20 Sept 30.4 °C 54 % 49 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
21 Sept 30.1 °C 61 % 48 km/h 2.9 mm fwi. 0
22 Sept 30.7 °C 58 % 46 km/h 1.6 mm fwi. 0
23 Sept 30.3 °C 58 % 49 km/h 1.9 mm fwi. 0
24 Sept 30.5 °C 57 % 53 km/h 0.3 mm fwi. 0
25 Sept 31.6 °C 52 % 50 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
26 Sept 31.8 °C 51 % 49 km/h 0.5 mm fwi. 0
27 Sept 31.0 °C 56 % 52 km/h 1.0 mm fwi. 0
28 Sept 31.1 °C 58 % 50 km/h 3.2 mm fwi. 0
29 Sept 30.9 °C 53 % 52 km/h 0.3 mm fwi. 0
30 Sept 31.8 °C 54 % 49 km/h 2.5 mm fwi. 0
1 Oct 32.2 °C 52 % 56 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
2 Oct 31.4 °C 55 % 57 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
3 Oct 31.4 °C 51 % 50 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
4 Oct 31.8 °C 53 % 47 km/h 1.4 mm fwi. 0
5 Oct 32.2 °C 55 % 47 km/h 2.3 mm fwi. 0
6 Oct 32.2 °C 45 % 50 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
7 Oct 32.5 °C 48 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
8 Oct 34.4 °C 39 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
9 Oct 32.9 °C 46 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
10 Oct 33.5 °C 50 % 49 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
11 Oct 33.8 °C 41 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
12 Oct 32.9 °C 48 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
13 Oct 33.2 °C 49 % 45 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
14 Oct 31.3 °C 56 % 40 km/h 4.7 mm fwi. 0
15 Oct 31.9 °C 56 % 44 km/h 1.3 mm fwi. 0
16 Oct 33.4 °C 49 % 49 km/h 0.3 mm fwi. 0
17 Oct 33.1 °C 48 % 49 km/h 0.0 mm fwi. 0
18 Oct 33.1 °C 48 % 49 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
19 Oct 32.8 °C 49 % 46 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
20 Oct 33.4 °C 51 % 48 km/h 0.8 mm fwi. 0
21 Oct 34.9 °C 47 % 45 km/h 0.7 mm fwi. 0
22 Oct 33.5 °C 53 % 44 km/h 0.8 mm fwi. 0
23 Oct 32.3 °C 59 % 38 km/h 2.8 mm fwi. 0
24 Oct 31.6 °C 62 % 32 km/h 4.3 mm fwi. 0
25 Oct 32.9 °C 54 % 34 km/h 1.9 mm fwi. 0
26 Oct 33.9 °C 54 % 29 km/h 2.9 mm fwi. 0
27 Oct 33.3 °C 48 % 38 km/h 0.1 mm fwi. 0
28 Oct 33.5 °C 52 % 34 km/h 4.4 mm fwi. 0
29 Oct 34.4 °C 52 % 33 km/h 4.1 mm fwi. 0
30 Oct 33.6 °C 55 % 36 km/h 5.3 mm fwi. 0
31 Oct 32.7 °C 61 % 40 km/h 2.7 mm fwi. 0
1 Nov 32.2 °C 60 % 25 km/h 3.6 mm fwi. 0
2 Nov 32.0 °C 59 % 30 km/h 1.6 mm fwi. 0
3 Nov 31.6 °C 60 % 33 km/h 4.9 mm fwi. 0
4 Nov 34.9 °C 53 % 33 km/h 3.8 mm fwi. 0
5 Nov 33.5 °C 52 % 30 km/h 0.8 mm fwi. 0
6 Nov 34.0 °C 47 % 36 km/h 0.2 mm fwi. 0
7 Nov 33.7 °C 49 % 37 km/h 1.5 mm fwi. 0
8 Nov 34.1 °C 54 % 29 km/h 5.8 mm fwi. 0
9 Nov 32.9 °C 59 % 30 km/h 3.8 mm fwi. 0
10 Nov 32.7 °C 61 % 27 km/h 3.3 mm fwi. 0

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 16 Aug 2026
After · 10 Nov 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 6 September 2026 the air beside the fire reached 51 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 22: 1.5 times the WHO daily guideline (15).

PM2.5 peak51 µg/m³
Days over the guideline11 days
PM1055 µg/m³
Optical depth2.38
28 Aug5 Sept13 Sept21 Sept29 Sept
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 · 739Every 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 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 23 August 2026 to 10 November 2026 (80 days). The perimeter dates it from 30 August 2026 to 6 November 2026.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 12,480 hectares (124.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire only entered Merauke (20,407 ha, 0.5 %).
Is the Merauke fire still active?
No fire detections since 10 Nov 2026, 04:29 UTC. A lack of detections is not an official extinction.
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 34.9 °C, humidity dropped to 39 % and gusts hit 62 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

History of this page · 3 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Area: 21,910 → 12,447 ha.
  2. Area: 20,255 → 21,910 ha.
  3. Last day with fire: 24 October 2026 → 27 October 2026.

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. 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; 7 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 30 August 2026 to 6 November 2026. 739 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.
  • 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 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.