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The biggest wildfires since 2012

This page does not show where it is burning now — it shows where it has burned. 18 267 large fire outlines from satellite measurement, since January 8, 2012, from Europe and the Mediterranean. Click any row and the map jumps there.

The world’s fires — on the map

By default the map shows burned areas — what has actually burned stays on the map. The hotspot replay can be switched on: 47 days of detections spin through, from California to Australia. (Burned-area outlines are measured for the EFFIS region — Europe and its surroundings; the hotspots cover the whole world.)

wheel: zoom · drag: pan
… speed:
detections that day: – total in the replay: 10 125 326 source: NASA FIRMS · own collection, 47 days

Europe’s big fires since 2012

recorded fires18 267
total burned area19 639 210 ha
largest single fire82 210 ha
data starts2012-01-08

The 60 largest fires — click a row and the map jumps there

The outlines of the 60 largest fires, at true scale. Zoom into any of them — this is the scale where the size really shows.

#burned areamikorholcountry
1.3,503,739 haJul 11, 2024Urubichá · 102 kmBolivia
2.830,194 haDec 31, 2020Bria · 205 kmCentral African Republic
3.781,230 haJul 12, 2021Sangar · 79 kmRussia
4.775,085 haJul 7, 2024San Matías · 99 kmBolivia
5.756,062 haJul 16, 2020Poconé · 84 kmBrazil
6.695,185 haSep 7, 2023Tennant Creek · 230 kmAustralia
7.577,702 haDec 5, 2019Bombala · 53 kmAustralia
8.570,146 haAug 4, 2021San Matías · 105 kmBolivia
9.546,254 haDec 28, 2025Raja · 161 kmSouth Sudan
10.530,191 haDec 3, 2016Wau · 131 kmSouth Sudan
11.517,289 haOct 17, 2019Yarravel · 46 kmAustralia
12.449,041 haAug 17, 2020Covelo · 29 kmUnited States
13.443,734 haAug 11, 2024Roboré · 122 kmBolivia
14.442,449 haJul 12, 2014Berdigestyakh · 142 kmRussia
15.415,239 haJul 14, 2021Greenville · 9 kmUnited States
16.390,848 haNov 25, 2019Pokolbin · 53 kmAustralia
17.389,973 haAug 16, 2025Kununurra · 173 kmAustralia
18.371,983 haSep 11, 2025Fitzroy Crossing · 202 kmAustralia
19.368,278 haDec 9, 2012Raja · 171 kmSouth Sudan
20.360,416 haDec 13, 2016Obo · 115 kmCentral African Republic
21.352,403 haOct 18, 2023Tennant Creek · 209 kmAustralia
22.336,439 haOct 23, 2023Puerto Quijarro · 95 kmBolivia
23.332,573 haSep 2, 2012Doomadgee · 297 kmAustralia
24.325,309 haDec 25, 2013Obo · 125 kmCentral African Republic
25.320,110 haSep 29, 2012Ngukurr · 230 kmAustralia
26.319,572 haSep 13, 2025Roebuck · 50 kmAustralia
27.317,793 haJan 7, 2020Ouadda · 191 kmCentral African Republic
28.316,913 haJun 28, 2021Norway House · 226 kmCanada
29.306,833 haMay 11, 2019Wadeye · 103 kmAustralia
30.305,637 haSep 15, 2023Springsure · 89 kmAustralia
31.304,918 haNov 26, 2019Oakdale · 24 kmAustralia
32.304,671 haAug 6, 2024Puerto Quijarro · 36 kmBolivia
33.298,609 haOct 26, 2019Waterview Heights · 37 kmAustralia
34.297,905 haJul 28, 2019San Matías · 100 kmBolivia
35.293,638 haJun 1, 2023Chisasibi · 211 kmCanada
36.290,548 haJul 21, 2026Nyurba · 313 kmRussia
37.289,752 haJan 16, 2020Zemio · 189 kmCentral African Republic
38.289,529 haOct 13, 2025Hope Vale · 193 kmAustralia
39.287,293 haAug 12, 2024Concepción · 87 kmBolivia
40.286,135 haDec 21, 2014Obo · 166 kmCentral African Republic
41.276,504 haJul 23, 2024Miranda · 46 kmBrazil
42.272,070 haOct 16, 2025Normanton · 219 kmAustralia
43.260,836 haSep 3, 2023Tennant Creek · 95 kmAustralia
44.259,129 haJun 27, 2013Waskaganish · 131 kmCanada
45.255,572 haMay 11, 2012Kununurra · 171 kmAustralia
46.255,555 haMay 20, 2025Nipawin · 90 kmCanada
47.252,285 haAug 27, 2025Mpika · 66 kmZambia
48.244,470 haJun 1, 2012Ngukurr · 85 kmAustralia
49.244,219 haDec 16, 2014Raja · 98 kmSouth Sudan
50.243,792 haAug 16, 2025Mansa · 42 kmZambia
51.239,407 haAug 25, 2020Mansa · 36 kmZambia
52.236,509 haDec 31, 2020Raja · 214 kmSouth Sudan
53.235,675 haAug 24, 2021Mansa · 36 kmZambia
54.234,543 haSep 26, 2020Hope Vale · 56 kmAustralia
55.231,792 haApr 25, 2018Zeya · 106 kmRussia
56.228,697 haJul 13, 2021Chernyshevskiy · 36 kmRussia
57.228,414 haJul 20, 2026Aykhal · 131 kmRussia
58.226,321 haSep 16, 2024Urubichá · 106 kmBolivia
59.220,572 haAug 15, 2014Katherine East · 58 kmAustralia
60.216,996 haSep 17, 2021Morpará · 37 kmBrazil

Which year burned the most?

The area of all fires above 30,000 hectares worldwide, summed per year. The 2026 bar is the season in progress, so it will still grow.

19.3M
2012
6.7M
2013
10.8M
2014
9.6M
2015
8.1M
2016
9.4M
2017
7.5M
2018
16.6M
2019
13.0M
2020
13.1M
2021
5.6M
2022
19.1M
2023
18.2M
2024
16.9M
2025
9.4M
2026

Which country burned the most?

countrynumber of firesburned area
Australia98463,709,930 ha
Russia38724,195,329 ha
Brazil24414,621,660 ha
Canada22114,526,106 ha
Bolivia10211,879,142 ha
South Sudan17010,746,339 ha
United States1489,781,194 ha
Central African Republic1028,541,289 ha
Zambia655,003,945 ha
Democratic Republic of the Congo412,200,250 ha
Botswana331,736,600 ha
Argentina301,723,068 ha
Mozambique331,569,382 ha
Angola321,424,912 ha
← Live wildfire map — where is it burning now?

Frequently asked questions

What was the biggest wildfire in Europe?

According to satellite measurement, the largest contiguous burned area since 2012 was 82 210 ha in Greece, in the Alexandroupoli area, on August 19, 2023 — roughly 822 square kilometers.

How far back does this list go?

January 8, 2012 — that is when Copernicus EFFIS began publishing satellite burned-area outlines with a consistent method. Anything older — like the 2007 Greek season — has no comparable measurement, so it is not listed here.

Why do the numbers differ from what the news says?

Because they measure different things. News reports often quote an estimated damage area for a whole region; here you see the satellite-measured extent of ONE contiguous burn scar. A big fire can consist of several scars, and the outlining method also affects the final number.

How big is 10,000 hectares?

100 square kilometers — a 10×10 km square, roughly the area of a mid-size European city. The fires at the top of this list burned several times that.

Where is the data from, and can I reuse it?

From the Copernicus Emergency Management Service / EFFIS, under the CC BY 4.0 license — free to reuse, including commercially, with attribution. Place names were reverse-looked-up from the GeoNames database (CC BY 4.0).

What this page shows, and what it does not. The numbers come from Copernicus EFFIS satellite outlining: the measured extent of a contiguous burn scar. This is not the same as estimated damage areas quoted in the news, and fires before 2012 are not included — there is no comparable measurement for them. The 2026 season is in progress.

Data source. © European Union, Copernicus Emergency Management Service — EFFIS/GWIS (CC BY 4.0). Place names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), reverse-looked-up from coordinates. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors © Protomaps, from our own EU tile servers.

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