Wildfire near Meriç, Turkey (2026)

Wildfire near Meriç — Sentinel-2 true color

Wildfire near Meriç — Sentinel-2 SWIR (fuego)

True view Fire view

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True view (left): as the eye sees it.
Fire view (right): infrared (SWIR), sees through smoke and brings out the heat.

🟢 green = vegetation
🟤 brown = already burned
🟠 orange = fire right now

Drag to compare: normal photo on the left, heat brought out on the right.

Green: vegetationBrown: already burnedOrange: fire right nowSentinel-2 · Copernicus

The story so far

Summary written on Aug 10, while the fire was still active. It has since ended — the figures above are current.

An active wildfire spanning 200 hectares, or 494 acres, continues to burn near the city of Meriç in Turkey, having started on August 9, 2026. Satellites are picking up an intense heat signature from the active front, while NASA FIRMS has recorded eight heat detections over the past 48 hours, highlighting the ongoing spread of the fire across the area.

This incident unfolds during the region's typical fire season, which runs from June to September. Meanwhile, the broader national landscape remains comparatively subdued, with 32,719 hectares having burned across the country so far in 2026, marking a figure that is 39 percent below the two-decade average.

In context

This wildfire burned in Turkey for 2 days. In total it burned about 200 ha (494 acres) — around 2.0 km². That size is an estimate from satellite hotspots, not a measured area.

In the Northern Hemisphere, wildfire activity usually peaks during the warm, dry months — roughly May through October.