Fire near Bahr el Ghazal occidental (SS)

9.45°N, 26.00°E · first detected on 21 October at 09:15

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 21 October at 09:15 to 22 October at 16:25, through 92 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,811 ha.

Detected extent: 1,811 ha
Cumulative power: 1,019 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 108 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 92
Estimated emissions: 1.3 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 21 October 2026 to 21 October 2026. An order-of-magnitude estimate from GFAS (ECMWF, Copernicus CAMS): it also counts neighbouring fires in the same cell. Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information (2026). Published data stop on 21 October 2026.

These four figures cover the polar orbits alone, the ones that measure an area. The pass table below also counts geostationary detections, more frequent but too coarse for geometry, and its power column sums a whole pass where the peak above is that of a single pixel.

“Detected extent” is not “burned area”: it is the union of the ground footprints of the satellite pixels, and a pixel counts in full (375 m for VIIRS, 1 km for MODIS) even when only a forest edge is burning. Compared with press figures it is in practice one and a half to three times the area reported. Detections taken at the edge of the scan swath, too coarse to measure anything at all, are excluded. These figures come from thermal detection and are not an official assessment: only the emergency services and the competent authorities are authoritative.

Replay how the fire spread

The map is framed on this fire's footprint and loads only its detections. The timeline below covers the period in which satellites saw it, from the first to the last detection, with twelve hours before and twenty-four after; the ticks on the bar mark the emergency services' announcements that fall within it. The cursor opens on the most powerful pass, and playback replays the whole fire in about thirty seconds. “1 h” shows what is burning within an hour of the chosen moment : the map then follows the power curve below and empties when it falls. “24 h” stacks twenty-four hours : a fire stays visible between two satellite passes, which come two to four times a day. Both are true, but they say different things.

How the radiative power evolved

One point per satellite pass: the sum of the fire radiative power measured over the fire. This is the curve that says whether the fire eased off or picked up again, which no cumulative figure shows. The window covers 4 days; beyond that, clustering would merge two successive fires in the same place.

Fire dynamics

Loading history…

Satellite passes in detail

Pass	Power summed over the pass	Detections	Sensor
22 October at 16:53	26 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:52	30 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 16:25	18 MW	1	Aqua
22 October at 16:22	74 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 16:07	115 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 16:05	55 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:55	30 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:52	44 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 15:25	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:15	46 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:07	207 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 15:05	93 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 14:55	97 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:52	156 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 14:45	56 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:37	34 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:22	127 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 14:17	121 MW	27	N20
22 October at 14:15	27 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:05	25 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:57	283 MW	19	N
22 October at 13:55	337 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 13:52	112 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:45	501 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 13:37	95 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:35	99 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 13:25	25 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:22	111 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 13:19	92 MW	13	N21
22 October at 13:07	153 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 12:52	187 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 12:45	48 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:37	112 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:25	21 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:22	51 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:07	127 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:05	45 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 11:55	29 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:52	97 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 11:37	62 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 11:22	51 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 10:35	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:25	42 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 10:15	71 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 10:05	16 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:45	52 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 09:35	26 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 09:25	49 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 09:22	34 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 09:15	38 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 09:07	28 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 09:05	23 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 08:37	9 MW	1	Terra
22 October at 02:13	1 MW	1	N21
21 October at 16:55	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:45	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:37	34 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 16:25	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 16:22	66 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 16:15	27 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 16:07	217 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 16:07	171 MW	3	Met10
21 October at 16:05	89 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:55	586 MW	8	Met12
21 October at 15:52	1,000 MW	6	Met10
21 October at 15:52	1,160 MW	7	Met9
21 October at 15:46	279 MW	6	Aqua
21 October at 15:45	127 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:37	336 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 15:37	399 MW	6	Met9
21 October at 15:35	96 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:25	170 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 15:22	575 MW	7	Met9
21 October at 15:22	426 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 15:15	120 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 15:07	834 MW	7	Met9
21 October at 15:07	630 MW	4	Met10
21 October at 15:05	237 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 14:55	25 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:52	149 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 14:52	274 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 14:45	204 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 14:37	195 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 14:35	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:22	85 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 14:17	119 MW	20	N
21 October at 14:15	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:07	196 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 14:05	132 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:55	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:45	34 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:40	106 MW	16	N21
21 October at 13:37	91 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 13:25	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:22	186 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 13:15	113 MW	3	Met12
21 October at 13:07	479 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 13:05	307 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 12:56	88 MW	8	N20
21 October at 12:55	139 MW	5	Met12
21 October at 12:52	263 MW	4	Met9
21 October at 12:45	154 MW	6	Met12
21 October at 12:37	89 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 12:35	20 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:25	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:22	38 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 11:55	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:45	23 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 11:37	41 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 10:22	34 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 10:15	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 09:15	11 MW	1	Met12

8 other fires near Bahr el Ghazal occidental (SS)

Separate fires, apart in time or in space, not pieces of this one. A single municipality can have several over one summer, and a forest massif often covers more than a hundred square kilometres.

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