Although we associate fires primarily with the color orange (and perhaps other fiery hues such as red or yellow), in actuality, fire comes in all sorts of unique colors. The hue depends on the type of material that’s burning and the flame temperature. Speaking of temperature, how hot are various flame colors?
Orange fire burns at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, white flames up to 2,600 degrees, and blue flames up to 5,432 degrees. Dark red flames are the least hot while blue flames are the hottest.
Today’s article will explain the temperature of each flame color. No matter what, they’re all hot, but you’ll soon know just how hot, so let’s get started!
Table of Contents
How Hot Is White Fire?
Let’s begin by discussing white fire.
As we mentioned in the intro, fire will begin as a pale red color, then become deep red, then orange, and then white.
Even white flames have varying levels. When it first transitions from orange to white, the flame has only a whiteish tint. The flame burns at 2,400 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,300 degrees Celsius.
As the fire continues to grow, its flame color becomes more pronounced. A bright white flame burns at 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,400 degrees Celsius.
At bright white, the flame hasn’t achieved its brightest or hottest peak yet. A dazzling white flame reaches 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,500 degrees Celsius.
How Hot Is Purple Fire?
You know that blue fire is the hottest, but what about purple? Do flames in this color even exist?
Indeed, they do, and it takes an intensely hot fire for the flames to appear blue-violet. Visible fire hardly gets hotter, as the temperature of blue-violet or purple fire exceeds 2,552 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,400 degrees Celsius.
How Hot Is Blue Fire?
When flames go from white to blue, now we’re talking ultra-hot temperatures. A flame will burn blue at temperatures of at least 4,532 degrees Fahrenheit or 2,500 degrees Celsius.
Blue flames get even fierier still! At their hottest, a blue flame will burn at 5,432 degrees Fahrenheit or 3,000 degrees Celsius.
It’s hard to fathom temperatures that hot, but they’re needed for iron extraction today, so they do serve a purpose.
How Hot Is Orange Fire?
Now let’s switch gears and discuss the traditional fire color, orange.
Despite that we all associate orange with fire, it’s not the first color that fire burns. You should recall that’s red. We’ll talk about red flames in just a moment, so keep reading for more temperature information there.
Flames go from red to orange to white, so the first color you could see orange flames burn is in a deep orange hue.
Deep orange flames burn at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,100 degrees Celsius.
Should orange flames continue to grow in size and temperature, they’ll lose that dark coloration and become clearer. They’re not 100 percent white at this point, as even the coolest white flames (which are still pretty darn hot, by the way!) aren’t entirely white.
Clear orange flames are 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,200 degrees Celsius. They’re only 200 degrees hotter than deep orange flames, but that 200 degrees makes all the difference!
How Hot Is Red Fire?
Okay, so as promised, let’s talk further about red fire.
Since flames begin red, this fire color has many more nuanced evolutions. It’s interesting to see how the temperatures climb as red fire becomes more pronounced.
When red flames are only slightly visible, they burn at a temperature of 980 degrees Fahrenheit or 525 degrees Celsius. That’s the coolest that fire gets, and it’s not cool at all.
After all, it only takes exposure to heat at 118 degrees for your skin to sustain first-degree burns and 131 degrees for second-degree burns.
Moving on, dull red fire burns at 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit or 700 degrees Celsius. The flames have begun to grow but can get larger still.
Dull cherry-colored red flames have reached a temperature of 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit or 800 degrees Celsius. Now the flames have more color, but they’ll deepen still.
When that happens, the flames have a fuller cherry color. Their temperature also increases to 1,700 degrees Fahrenheit or 900 degrees Celsius.
That’s not yet the full extent of a red flame’s evolution. It will take on a more distinct color that’s a clear cherry. These flames burn at 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit or 1,000 degrees Celsius.
How Hot Is Green Fire?
You had never heard of green fire before. What exactly is it?
Green flames occur when potassium chlorate and sulfur interact with nitrate or another salt of barium. Usually, you see green flames used in pyrotechnics since they add to the appearance of the pyro.
Alternatively, you can create green flames by adding color.
Green flames can burn at any flame temperature since they’re not naturally occurring.
It makes more sense for green flames to have a lower temperature than a higher one so they’re safe enough for a pyrotechnics expert to ignite and for everyone in the vicinity to enjoy.
Bottom Line
Flames burn in a variety of different intensities. Besides growing in temperature, flames also change color as they get hotter.
Red flames are the lowest temperature and the weakest, followed by orange, white, blue, and then the rarer blue-violet flames.
Do not be mistaken though. You can burn your skin and sustain first-degree burns at temperatures only slightly over 100 degrees Fahrenheit! Even the weakest red flames burn close to 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
Marvel at flame colors if you like, but never be close enough to get hurt.
