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MW · Malawi · Northern Region

Wildfires in Karonga

Karonga, Malawi, has had 78 large fires recorded by GWIS since 2016: 122,569 hectares burned inside its boundaries, 36% of its area. Fire danger today: extreme (FWI 50).

Only fires of 1,000 ha or more get an entry: smaller ones are not in the lists or the totals on this page.

These figures leave out one provisional page, seen only as heat detections and still without a perimeter. They appear in the lists, marked.

Fire danger, today and the coming days

FWI computed from the Open-Meteo forecast
  1. Fri 23 Very high 36° · 19 % · 37 km/h
  2. Sat 24 Extreme 35° · 20 % · 54 km/h
  3. Sun 25 Very high 34° · 24 % · 53 km/h
  4. Mon 26 Very high 33° · 32 % · 52 km/h
  5. Tue 27 Very high 34° · 32 % · 42 km/h
  6. Wed 28 High 34° · 30 % · 44 km/h
  7. Thu 29 Very high 34° · 25 % · 46 km/h
  8. Fri 30 Moderate 32° · 35 % · 46 km/h

Canadian Fire Weather Index, the same system Copernicus uses, computed by WorldFires from the weather forecast and two months of past weather for fuel state. It is an estimate per municipality, not an official warning: warnings are issued by each country’s emergency service.

The municipality and its fires

Since 2016

122,569
hectares burned
36 %
of its area
78
fires
3,431
km²

How many times has Karonga burned?

Karonga has burned 78 times since 2016, in 11 years: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The most recent: Chitipa fire, 15 October 2026, with 49 hectares inside the municipality.

  1. 6× 16
  2. 5× 17
  3. 5× 18
  4. 4× 19
  5. 10× 20
  6. 10× 21
  7. 4× 22
  8. 8× 23
  9. 2× 24
  10. 13× 25
  11. 11× 26
78
fires
11
years with fire
122,569
cumulative ha
15 Oct 2026
most recent

Fires larger than 1,000 hectares with a perimeter since 2016 that reached the municipality, even partly. Cumulative hectares add up every fire; the distinct area counts land that burned several times only once. Perimeters and boundaries overlaid by WorldFires.

Where it has burned most often in Malawi →

Fires that entered Karonga

  1. 49 ha Chitipa fire, 15 October 2026 0.0% of the municipality · 1,414 ha in total · 10 days
  2. 46 ha Chitipa fire, 15 October 2026 0.0% of the municipality · 1,185 ha in total · 10 days
  3. 1,078 ha Rumphi fire, 14 October 2026 0.3% of the municipality · 0 ha in total · 10 days
  4. 229 ha Chitipa fire, 14 October 2026 0.1% of the municipality · 2,891 ha in total · 11 days
  5. 1,392 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2026 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,384 ha in total · 11 days
  6. 4,316 ha Karonga fire, 13 October 2026 where it started 1.3% of the municipality · 4,291 ha in total · 12 days
  7. 5,140 ha Karonga fire, 13 October 2026 where it started 1.5% of the municipality · 5,110 ha in total · 12 days
  8. 2,083 ha Karonga fire, 13 October 2026 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 2,072 ha in total · 12 days
  9. 2,757 ha Chitipa fire, 13 October 2026 0.8% of the municipality · 15,432 ha in total · 12 days
  10. 2,348 ha Karonga fire, 13 October 2026 where it started 0.7% of the municipality · 2,336 ha in total · 12 days
  11. 1,136 ha Karonga fire, 11 October 2026 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,129 ha in total · 12 days
  12. 1,086 ha Karonga fire, 6 October 2026 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,187 ha in total · 4 days
  13. 1,129 ha Karonga fire, November 2025 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,121 ha in total · 4 days
  14. 50 ha Rumphi fire, 30 October 2025 0.0% of the municipality · 1,178 ha in total · 3 days
  15. 1,035 ha Karonga fire, 30 October 2025 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,029 ha in total · 12 days
  16. 2,459 ha Chitipa fire, 29 October 2025 0.7% of the municipality · 3,000 ha in total · 12 days
  17. 1,397 ha Chitipa fire, 26 October 2025 0.4% of the municipality · 22,043 ha in total · 14 days
  18. 2,793 ha Karonga fire, 25 October 2025 where it started 0.8% of the municipality · 2,778 ha in total · 15 days
  19. 4,427 ha Chitipa fire, 25 October 2025 1.3% of the municipality · 10,386 ha in total · 18 days
  20. 8,114 ha Karonga fire, 23 October 2025 where it started 2.4% of the municipality · 8,073 ha in total · 19 days
  21. 58 ha Chitipa fire, 23 October 2025 0.0% of the municipality · 3,857 ha in total · 20 days
  22. 3,233 ha Chitipa fire, 18 October 2025 0.9% of the municipality · 5,627 ha in total · 18 days
  23. 1,074 ha Karonga fire, 15 October 2025 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,068 ha in total · 2 days
  24. 6,716 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2025 where it started 2.0% of the municipality · 6,676 ha in total · 21 days
  25. 1,020 ha Karonga fire, 3 October 2025 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,012 ha in total · 2 days
  26. 9 ha Chitipa fire, October 2024 0.0% of the municipality · 1,065 ha in total · 7 days
  27. 1,113 ha Karonga fire, October 2024 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,107 ha in total · 11 days
  28. 1,025 ha Karonga fire, 23 October 2023 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,097 ha in total · 6 days
  29. 248 ha Chitipa fire, October 2023 0.1% of the municipality · 1,207 ha in total · 5 days
  30. 1,016 ha Karonga fire, 21 October 2023 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,010 ha in total · 6 days
  31. 1,484 ha Karonga fire, 19 October 2023 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,477 ha in total · 5 days
  32. 1,767 ha Karonga fire, 18 October 2023 where it started 0.5% of the municipality · 1,756 ha in total · 8 days
  33. 2,141 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2023 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 2,128 ha in total · 4 days
  34. 2,742 ha Karonga fire, 13 October 2023 where it started 0.8% of the municipality · 2,727 ha in total · 4 days
  35. 1,250 ha Karonga fire, 13 October 2023 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,243 ha in total · 11 days
  36. 545 ha Chitipa fire, 31 October 2022 0.2% of the municipality · 1,188 ha in total · 7 days
  37. 1,138 ha Karonga fire, 15 October 2022 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,131 ha in total · 3 days
  38. 3,280 ha Karonga fire, 12 October 2022 where it started 1.0% of the municipality · 3,387 ha in total · 8 days
  39. 1,147 ha Karonga fire, 11 October 2022 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,140 ha in total · 5 days
  40. 520 ha Chitipa fire, 11 November 2021 0.2% of the municipality · 1,124 ha in total · 4 days
  41. 200 ha Chitipa fire, 7 November 2021 0.1% of the municipality · 1,207 ha in total · 7 days
  42. 600 ha Rumphi fire, 5 November 2021 0.2% of the municipality · 1,006 ha in total · 3 days
  43. 1,158 ha Karonga fire, November 2021 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,149 ha in total · 7 days
  44. 430 ha Chitipa fire, 2 November 2021 0.1% of the municipality · 1,237 ha in total · 9 days
  45. 1,421 ha Karonga fire, 21 October 2021 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,410 ha in total · 5 days
  46. 1,241 ha Karonga fire, 18 October 2021 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,235 ha in total · 5 days
  47. 1,075 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2021 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,069 ha in total · 3 days
  48. 1,696 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2021 where it started 0.5% of the municipality · 1,686 ha in total · 2 days
  49. 813 ha Karonga fire, September 2021 where it started 0.2% of the municipality · 1,214 ha in total · 3 days
  50. 1,436 ha Karonga fire, 27 October 2020 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,429 ha in total · 8 days
  51. 195 ha Chitipa fire, 24 October 2020 0.1% of the municipality · 1,012 ha in total · 5 days
  52. 1,430 ha Karonga fire, 20 October 2020 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,423 ha in total · 6 days
  53. 199 ha Chitipa fire, 20 October 2020 0.1% of the municipality · 1,588 ha in total · 11 days
  54. 101 ha Rumphi fire, 19 October 2020 0.0% of the municipality · 2,016 ha in total · 3 days
  55. 1,616 ha Karonga fire, 16 October 2020 where it started 0.5% of the municipality · 1,606 ha in total · 9 days
  56. 1,840 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2020 where it started 0.5% of the municipality · 1,830 ha in total · 8 days
  57. 1,055 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2020 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,050 ha in total · 6 days
  58. 2,441 ha Karonga fire, 2 October 2020 where it started 0.7% of the municipality · 3,321 ha in total · 6 days
  59. 642 ha Chitipa fire, September 2020 0.2% of the municipality · 2,071 ha in total · 4 days
  60. 1,296 ha Karonga fire, 29 October 2019 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,286 ha in total · 4 days
  61. 1,316 ha Karonga fire, 28 October 2019 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,306 ha in total · 4 days
  62. 2,016 ha Karonga fire, 25 October 2019 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 2,006 ha in total · 9 days
  63. 2,189 ha Karonga fire, 19 October 2019 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 2,176 ha in total · 8 days
  64. 22 ha Chitipa fire, October 2018 0.0% of the municipality · 1,419 ha in total · 6 days
  65. 1,523 ha Karonga fire, 26 October 2018 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,516 ha in total · 7 days
  66. 1,959 ha Karonga fire, 15 October 2018 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 1,948 ha in total · 8 days
  67. 1,113 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2018 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,107 ha in total · 4 days
  68. 383 ha Rumphi fire, 2 August 2018 0.1% of the municipality · 1,213 ha in total · 3 days
  69. 512 ha Chitipa fire, 23 October 2017 0.2% of the municipality · 1,068 ha in total · 4 days
  70. 2,078 ha Karonga fire, 21 October 2017 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 2,065 ha in total · 7 days
  71. 2,062 ha Karonga fire, 16 October 2017 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 2,050 ha in total · 6 days
  72. 1,697 ha Karonga fire, 16 October 2017 where it started 0.5% of the municipality · 1,684 ha in total · 3 days
  73. 3,957 ha Karonga fire, 15 October 2017 where it started 1.2% of the municipality · 3,935 ha in total · 7 days
  74. 617 ha Chitipa fire, 20 October 2016 0.2% of the municipality · 1,589 ha in total · 7 days
  75. 1,295 ha Karonga fire, 20 October 2016 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,288 ha in total · 9 days
  76. 780 ha Karonga fire, 20 October 2016 where it started 0.2% of the municipality · 1,968 ha in total · 5 days
  77. 2,054 ha Karonga fire, 19 October 2016 where it started 0.6% of the municipality · 3,586 ha in total · 12 days
  78. 1,526 ha Karonga fire, 18 October 2016 where it started 0.4% of the municipality · 1,517 ha in total · 7 days
  79. 1,076 ha Karonga fire, 14 October 2016 where it started 0.3% of the municipality · 1,373 ha in total · 4 days

Where this data comes from

Perimeters come from GWIS (Copernicus, CC BY 4.0), rebuilt from heat detections, and municipal boundaries from geoBoundaries/National Statistics Office of Malawi, OCHA ROSEA (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Intergovernmental Organisations (CC BY 3.0 IGO)). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing both. The forecast is from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).

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