Skip to content
worldfires
en
SS · South Sudan · →

Ulang fire, 27 December 2018 Ulang, Akobo

Out · last detection 4 Feb 2019, 12:03 UTC

The fire started on 27 December 2018 in Ulang, South Sudan, and satellites saw it burning for 39 days. Copernicus’s global GWIS system rebuilt a burnt perimeter of 58,283 hectares from heat detections, spread across 2 municipalities.

It is the 5th largest in Upper Nile since 2016 (of 285 with a page). Number 5 in South Sudan in 2018, of 120.

Compare with…

Suggestions: Ulang · 2016Ulang · 2017Ulang · 2018Luakpiny/Nasir · 2017

Burnt area
58,283ha
GWIS perimeter (Copernicus)
Duration
39days
27 Dec 2018 – 3 Feb 2019
Municipalities hit
2
counties
Started on
27 Dec
2018
Heat detections
2,418
in a single hotspot: 427 MW
Danger at start
52
Extreme · FWI index
Average daily power
758MW
detected power per day, on average

Where it burned

HOTSPOTS BY DAY 27 Dec3 Feb
4 Feb 2019

How it evolved, day by day

27 Dec 2018 · 41 MW · 6 28 Dec 2018 · 11 MW · 2 29 Dec 2018 · 1,374 MW · 19 30 Dec 2018 · 171 MW · 16 31 Dec 2018 · 168 MW · 13 1 Jan 2019 · 71 MW · 5 2 Jan 2019 · 187 MW · 18 3 Jan 2019 · 219 MW · 33 4 Jan 2019 · 1,439 MW · 89 5 Jan 2019 · 2,168 MW · 81 6 Jan 2019 · 691 MW · 59 7 Jan 2019 · 279 MW · 55 8 Jan 2019 · 590 MW · 111 9 Jan 2019 · 651 MW · 111 10 Jan 2019 · 1,149 MW · 109 11 Jan 2019 · 613 MW · 49 12 Jan 2019 · 4,172 MW · 138 13 Jan 2019 · 2,801 MW · 154 14 Jan 2019 · 741 MW · 76 15 Jan 2019 · 785 MW · 112 16 Jan 2019 · 1,860 MW · 185 17 Jan 2019 · 1,155 MW · 174 18 Jan 2019 · 817 MW · 104 19 Jan 2019 · 243 MW · 73 20 Jan 2019 · 1,521 MW · 175 21 Jan 2019 · 863 MW · 92 22 Jan 2019 · 673 MW · 62 23 Jan 2019 · 655 MW · 36 24 Jan 2019 · 284 MW · 30 25 Jan 2019 · 3 MW · 1 26 Jan 2019 · 1 MW · 1 27 Jan 2019 · 845 MW · 77 28 Jan 2019 · 1,880 MW · 30 29 Jan 2019 · 104 MW · 17 30 Jan 2019 · 48 MW · 6 31 Jan 2019 · 164 MW · 17 1 Feb 2019 · 401 MW · 35 2 Feb 2019 · 179 MW · 19 3 Feb 2019 · 232 MW · 24 4 Feb 2019 · 83 MW · 4
27 Dec 2 Jan 8 Jan 12 Jan 14 Jan 20 Jan 26 Jan 1 Feb

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

The weather it burned in

41°high
48km/h · peak gust
9%lowest humidity

It had gone 57 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.

This area had burned before

82% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 8,342 ha in 2016, 44,435 ha in 2017, 14,990 ha in 2018. Part of it burned more than once, so the yearly figures add up to more than the 47,724 ha that had burned before.

How big is it?

10 km
It burned the equivalent of 37% of the area of London (583 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. Ulang where it started
    54,589 ha reached on 27 Dec
    11 %
  2. Akobo
    1,670 ha reached on 8 Jan
    0.2 %

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)

Day High Min. humidity Peak gust Rain Danger (FWI)
27 Dec 37.6 °C 23 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
28 Dec 36.3 °C 22 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
29 Dec 37.2 °C 20 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
30 Dec 35.8 °C 23 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 49
31 Dec 36.3 °C 22 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
1 Jan 35.7 °C 27 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 38
2 Jan 37.8 °C 20 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 45
3 Jan 37.3 °C 17 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
4 Jan 37.9 °C 21 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
5 Jan 37.1 °C 24 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
6 Jan 37.4 °C 18 % 21 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 43
7 Jan 38.2 °C 16 % 47 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
8 Jan 38.0 °C 18 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
9 Jan 37.8 °C 18 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 57
10 Jan 38.4 °C 17 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
11 Jan 38.1 °C 18 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
12 Jan 38.4 °C 15 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
13 Jan 38.5 °C 15 % 27 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 47
14 Jan 38.5 °C 14 % 22 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 46
15 Jan 40.2 °C 12 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
16 Jan 40.6 °C 11 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
17 Jan 39.1 °C 16 % 48 km/h 0.0 mm Very extreme 70
18 Jan 39.4 °C 16 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
19 Jan 38.6 °C 16 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
20 Jan 39.2 °C 12 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 63
21 Jan 40.0 °C 9 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
22 Jan 40.2 °C 12 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
23 Jan 40.2 °C 13 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
24 Jan 40.4 °C 12 % 35 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
25 Jan 40.1 °C 17 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 54
26 Jan 40.3 °C 17 % 39 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
27 Jan 39.8 °C 20 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
28 Jan 40.2 °C 18 % 45 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 64
29 Jan 39.5 °C 15 % 30 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 53
30 Jan 38.5 °C 18 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 48
31 Jan 39.8 °C 15 % 29 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
1 Feb 39.8 °C 17 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 59
2 Feb 39.8 °C 17 % 31 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 52
3 Feb 40.4 °C 14 % 26 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 51
4 Feb after 39.4 °C 14 % 20 km/h 0.0 mm Very high 50
5 Feb after 41.4 °C 13 % 36 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
6 Feb after 40.0 °C 15 % 42 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 65
7 Feb after 41.3 °C 14 % 44 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 66
8 Feb after 39.7 °C 20 % 34 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 55
9 Feb after 39.4 °C 16 % 32 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 58
10 Feb after 39.5 °C 19 % 40 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 61
11 Feb after 37.7 °C 18 % 41 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 62
12 Feb after 38.7 °C 17 % 37 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 60
13 Feb after 38.7 °C 16 % 33 km/h 0.0 mm Extreme 56

Before and after, from space

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

Before · 20 Dec 2018
After · 10 Feb 2019

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 · 2,418Every 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 Ulang fire last?
According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 27 December 2018 to 3 February 2019 (39 days). The perimeter dates it from 2 January 2019 to 27 January 2019.
How much area did it burn?
The perimeter GWIS (Copernicus) rebuilt from heat detections is 58,283 hectares (582.8 km²). It is an estimate: official national figures may differ.
Which municipalities burned?
The fire entered 2 municipalities: Ulang (54,589 ha, 11 %); Akobo (1,670 ha, 0.2 %).
What was the weather like?
During the fire the temperature reached 40.6 °C, humidity dropped to 9 % and gusts hit 48 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 70, class Very 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

History of this page · 2 Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
  1. Last day with fire: 27 January 2019 → 3 February 2019.
  2. Start date: 2 January 2019 → 27 December 2018.

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.

How we know this
  • Perimeter: GWIS (Copernicus), rebuilt from heat detections rather than mapped on imagery; 2 polygons grouped in this page.
  • Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 2 January 2019 to 27 January 2019. 2,418 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 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.