Are there wildfires in Australia right now?

NASA's FIRMS satellites detected 12524 active fire hotspots in Australia over the last 3 days, including 106 high-intensity fires. The map on this page shows their exact locations, updated hourly.

How does NASA detect wildfires?

NASA's VIIRS and MODIS instruments aboard the Suomi NPP, NOAA-20 and Terra/Aqua satellites detect thermal anomalies (heat signatures) from orbit. Each detection is a "hotspot" — a pixel where the sensor measured fire-level heat. Data is published within about 3 hours of the satellite overpass through the FIRMS system.

What does fire intensity (FRP) mean?

FRP (Fire Radiative Power, in megawatts) measures how much energy a fire is releasing. Higher FRP means a more intense fire. On this map, brighter red dots are higher-intensity detections.

Wildfires in Australia Today

Name: Active Wildfires in Australia
Creator: NASA
Published: 2024-01-01
License: https://www.nasa.gov/open/
Keywords: wildfires, fires australia, NASA FIRMS, active fire map, VIIRS

Live active-fire map for Australia from NASA FIRMS satellite data. Where fires are burning right now — updated hourly. Typical fire season: December–February.

12524

Active hotspots

106

High intensity

Time window

VIIRS

NASA sensor

LowMedHigh

Conditions at Remote area

12 km/h from the ENE — carrying smoke towards the WSW.

22°C · 64% humidity

Air quality Fair

PM2.5 8.6 µg/m³ this hour · EU AQI 27 · US AQI 75

Air quality is acceptable for almost everyone.

Wind direction only — not a smoke dispersion forecast. Air quality is modelled, not a street-level measurement. Weather from MET Norway; air quality from Open-Meteo (Copernicus CAMS). Both CC BY 4.0.

352 active fires in Australia

Neighbouring detections grouped into single incidents, largest first.

1
Remote area
807 detections~70 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 05:23 UTC-15.618, 133.814
9713 MW
2
Remote area
764 detections~39.9 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 05:23 UTC-16.787, 135.901
8671 MW
3
Remote area
169 detections~31.2 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-18 05:42 UTC-17.175, 122.831
6373 MW
4
Remote area
578 detections~55.7 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 05:23 UTC-14.677, 132.272
6219 MW
5
Remote area
304 detections~46.7 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 05:25 UTC-12.605, 134.455
5854 MW
6
Remote area
300 detections~27.8 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 03:42 UTC-16.012, 144.195
4170 MW
7
Remote area
354 detections~86.1 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 05:23 UTC-16.235, 130.310
4027 MW
8
Remote area
400 detections~39.5 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 05:25 UTC-12.863, 132.173
3573 MW
9
Remote area
195 detections~29.8 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 03:42 UTC-13.513, 143.030
2975 MW
10
Remote area
138 detections~13.5 km acrosslast seen 2026-09-19 05:23 UTC-13.683, 135.249
2942 MW

Plus 287 smaller heat detections — often agricultural burning rather than wildfire.

About this wildfire map

This map uses NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), which publishes active-fire detections from the VIIRS and MODIS instruments aboard NASA and NOAA satellites. Each dot is a thermal “hotspot” where the sensor measured fire-level heat, usually within 3 hours of the satellite passing overhead. It shows where fires are actively burning — not fire perimeters or evacuation zones. For safety and evacuation information, always follow your local emergency services.

Fires by region in Australia

New South Wales Victoria Queensland Western Australia

Wildfires in other countries

Greece Spain Portugal Italy France Turkey Croatia Cyprus Albania North Macedonia Bulgaria Montenegro Germany United Kingdom United States Canada Mexico Brazil Argentina Chile