Live · 22 Oct 2026
Forest fires in Nepal
Satellite fire detections inside Nepal from NASA's VIIRS sensors, refreshed every 30 minutes, counted by district.
Last 24 hours
24
fire detections
Last 7 days
92
fire detections
Most affected district (7 days)
Taplejung
28 detections
Fire detections by district, last 7 days
| District | Province | Detections |
|---|---|---|
| Taplejung | Koshi | 28 |
| Dhading | Bagmati | 12 |
| Jhapa | Koshi | 9 |
| Mugu | Karnali | 8 |
| Parsa | Madhesh | 4 |
| Rupandehi | Lumbini | 3 |
| Kailali | Sudur Paschim | 3 |
| Dolpa | Karnali | 3 |
| Banke | Lumbini | 3 |
| Nawalparasi West | Lumbini | 2 |
| Dhanusa | Madhesh | 2 |
| Udayapur | Koshi | 2 |
| Bara | Madhesh | 1 |
| Arghakhanchi | Lumbini | 1 |
| Makwanpur | Bagmati | 1 |
| Kavrepalanchok | Bagmati | 1 |
| Morang | Koshi | 1 |
| Sunsari | Koshi | 1 |
| Panchthar | Koshi | 1 |
| Rautahat | Madhesh | 1 |
| Bardiya | Lumbini | 1 |
| Sarlahi | Madhesh | 1 |
| Mustang | Gandaki | 1 |
| Dang | Lumbini | 1 |
| Humla | Karnali | 1 |
Fires every year since 2012
Show the numbers
| Year | Detections |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 22,665 |
| 2024 | 52,842 |
| 2023 | 35,335 |
| 2022 | 18,120 |
| 2021 | 59,529 |
| 2020 | 9,092 |
| 2019 | 30,742 |
| 2018 | 21,624 |
| 2017 | 17,159 |
| 2016 | 61,011 |
| 2015 | 8,533 |
| 2014 | 34,672 |
| 2013 | 22,302 |
| 2012 | 30,783 |
VIIRS S-NPP detections inside Nepal per year (NASA FIRMS archive). The worst years were 2016, 2021, 2024.
The fire season
Average detections per month, 2012–2025: almost all fires burn from February to May.
Districts with the most fires, 2012–2025
| District | Detections | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Dang | 26,173 | 1,870 |
| Kailali | 22,330 | 1,595 |
| Surkhet | 22,115 | 1,580 |
| Bardiya | 21,621 | 1,544 |
| Banke | 20,033 | 1,431 |
| Chitawan | 18,889 | 1,349 |
| Makwanpur | 16,580 | 1,184 |
| Parsa | 15,563 | 1,112 |
| Sindhuli | 14,080 | 1,006 |
| Salyan | 12,757 | 911 |
Questions about fires in Nepal
- Are there forest fires in Nepal right now?
- NASA satellites detected 24 active fires in Nepal in the last 24 hours and 92 in the last 7 days, most of them in Taplejung district (28).
- When is the forest fire season in Nepal?
- Most fires burn in the dry season from February to May, peaking in March and April, before the monsoon. Fires are mostly human-caused: clearing land, burning crop residue and grazing land, and accidents.
- How are fires detected?
- The VIIRS instruments on the Suomi NPP, NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 satellites detect heat from fires about 375 m across, each passing over Nepal around 1:30 pm and 1:30 am. Thick smoke, cloud or small fires can be missed.
Source: NASA FIRMS, VIIRS 375 m active fire products (Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21).