Are there wildfires in Papua New Guinea right now?

NASA's FIRMS satellites detected 244 active fire hotspots in Papua New Guinea over the last 3 days, including 2 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 Papua New Guinea Today

Name: Active Wildfires in Papua New Guinea
Creator: NASA
Published: 2024-01-01
License: https://www.nasa.gov/open/
Keywords: wildfires, fires papua new guinea, NASA FIRMS, active fire map, VIIRS

Live active-fire map for Papua New Guinea from NASA FIRMS satellite data. Where fires are burning right now — updated hourly. Typical fire season: dry season.

244

Active hotspots

High intensity

Time window

VIIRS

NASA sensor

LowMedHigh

Conditions at Remote area

9 km/h from the SE — carrying smoke towards the NW.

34°C · 42% humidity

Air quality Fair

PM2.5 9.9 µg/m³ this hour · EU AQI 30 · US AQI 46

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.

35 active fires in Papua New Guinea

Neighbouring detections grouped into single incidents, largest first.

1
Remote area
11 detectionslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-8.223, 142.268
427 MW
2
Remote area
24 detections~16.3 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-8.920, 140.830
213 MW
3
Remote area
10 detections~2 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-8.309, 142.972
126 MW
4
Remote area
11 detections~7.2 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-8.177, 142.065
125 MW
5
Remote area
6 detectionslast seen 2026-11-02 03:17 UTC-10.100, 147.994
86 MW
6
Remote area
9 detections~2.4 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-7.012, 141.979
80 MW
7
Remote area
6 detections~4.3 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-8.255, 142.364
71 MW
8
Remote area
11 detections~21.5 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-9.002, 141.010
63 MW
9
Remote area
5 detections~2.1 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-8.135, 141.967
56 MW
10
Remote area
6 detections~2.5 km acrosslast seen 2026-11-02 04:59 UTC-7.978, 141.829
56 MW

Plus 45 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.

Wildfires in other countries

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