Are there wildfires in Australia right now?

NASA's FIRMS satellites detected 2745 active fire hotspots in Australia over the last 3 days, including 7 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.

2745

Active hotspots

High intensity

Time window

VIIRS

NASA sensor

LowMedHigh

Conditions at Remote area

7 km/h from the NE — carrying smoke towards the SW.

39°C · 31% humidity

Air quality Extremely poor

PM2.5 67.1 µg/m³ this hour · EU AQI 111 · US AQI 123

Avoid outdoor exertion. Stay indoors with windows closed where possible.

The band above follows the European index, which averages particulates over 24 hours — so a sharp rise in this hour's PM2.5, as smoke passing overhead causes, shows up in the reading before it moves the band.

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.

231 active fires in Australia

Neighbouring detections grouped into single incidents, largest first.

1
Remote area
82 detections~23.7 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:57 UTC-17.452, 131.779
1597 MW
2
Remote area
70 detections~19.4 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:55 UTC-22.578, 130.996
1546 MW
3
Remote area
94 detections~41.2 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:57 UTC-13.665, 142.314
1226 MW
4
Remote area
60 detections~10.4 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:55 UTC-21.818, 145.316
894 MW
5
Remote area
64 detections~20.6 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:57 UTC-14.686, 125.637
878 MW
6
Remote area
31 detections~12.9 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:57 UTC-15.816, 132.190
739 MW
7
Remote area
22 detections~2.4 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:55 UTC-23.629, 147.683
729 MW
8
Remote area
80 detections~17.4 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:57 UTC-17.809, 131.780
698 MW
9
Remote area
35 detections~7.9 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:55 UTC-19.570, 144.311
681 MW
10
Remote area
22 detections~12.7 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:57 UTC-16.360, 124.865
588 MW

Plus 128 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