Fire near Cabo Delgado (MZ)

12.29°S, 38.38°E · first detected on 20 October at 12:03

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 20 October at 12:03 to 23 October at 00:20, that is 3 days, through 116 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,389 ha.

Detected extent: 1,389 ha
Cumulative power: 1,550 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 85 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 116
Estimated emissions: 82 t of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 20 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 5 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
23 October at 00:20	1 MW	1	N21
22 October at 18:05	19 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 18:03	25 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 17:35	62 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 17:35	34 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 17:20	57 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 17:20	35 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 17:13	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 17:05	186 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 17:05	168 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 17:03	23 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:53	18 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:50	82 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 16:50	147 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 16:43	23 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:35	264 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 16:35	347 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 16:33	32 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:20	198 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 16:20	67 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 16:13	368 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 16:05	640 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 16:04	484 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 16:03	194 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:53	147 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:50	266 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 15:49	308 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 15:43	128 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:35	283 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 15:34	150 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 15:33	108 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 15:20	102 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:05	170 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 15:04	61 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 15:03	22 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:53	185 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 14:50	374 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 14:49	255 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 14:43	20 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:40	112 MW	2	Aqua
22 October at 14:35	290 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 14:34	158 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 14:33	94 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:23	310 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 14:19	358 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 14:19	278 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 14:13	164 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 14:04	672 MW	6	Met10
22 October at 14:04	895 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 14:03	385 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 13:53	151 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 13:49	232 MW	28	N
22 October at 13:49	170 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:49	309 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 13:43	123 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 13:34	174 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 13:34	372 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 13:33	338 MW	12	Met12
22 October at 13:23	696 MW	13	Met12
22 October at 13:19	700 MW	4	Met10
22 October at 13:19	547 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 13:15	523 MW	18	N21
22 October at 13:13	422 MW	11	Met12
22 October at 13:04	426 MW	3	Met10
22 October at 13:04	887 MW	5	Met9
22 October at 13:03	467 MW	13	Met12
22 October at 12:53	117 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 12:49	176 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:49	74 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:43	208 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 12:34	423 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 12:34	267 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 12:33	337 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:30	463 MW	40	N20
22 October at 12:23	418 MW	9	Met12
22 October at 12:19	106 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:19	226 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:13	339 MW	8	Met12
22 October at 12:04	378 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 12:04	250 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 12:03	315 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 11:53	334 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 11:49	335 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:49	647 MW	4	Met9
22 October at 11:43	166 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 11:34	262 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 11:34	204 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:33	311 MW	6	Met12
22 October at 11:23	532 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 11:19	1,110 MW	7	Met9
22 October at 11:19	1,175 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 11:13	869 MW	7	Met12
22 October at 11:04	242 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 11:04	362 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 11:03	112 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 10:53	84 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 10:49	42 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 10:43	59 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 10:34	54 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 10:34	134 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 10:33	163 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 10:23	85 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 10:19	38 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 10:13	45 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:04	50 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 10:04	49 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 10:03	27 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:53	32 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:49	93 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 09:49	196 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 09:43	100 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 09:34	99 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 09:34	36 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 09:33	120 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 09:19	28 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 09:13	80 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 01:16	5 MW	2	N
22 October at 00:40	9 MW	4	N21
21 October at 23:55	4 MW	1	N20
21 October at 21:53	20 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 21:50	21 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 21:35	35 MW	2	Met9
21 October at 20:15	5 MW	1	Terra
21 October at 19:35	16 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 19:35	27 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 19:33	14 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 14:13	16 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:32	3 MW	1	N21
21 October at 12:47	16 MW	3	N20
21 October at 12:28	9 MW	2	N
20 October at 16:33	12 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:43	25 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:33	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:01	15 MW	1	Aqua
20 October at 14:13	36 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:08	71 MW	7	N20
20 October at 12:53	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:43	28 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:13	22 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:11	84 MW	5	N21
20 October at 12:03	12 MW	1	Met12

8 other fires near Cabo Delgado (MZ)

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.

Follow live

The map shows active fires in 3D, with smoke plumes, forecast wind, drop zones and the live position of water bombers tracked by ADS-B, anywhere in the world.

Open the fire map

Take the data of this fire with you

A ready-to-use archive, paid once, no subscription. It contains:

the satellite detections of the fire
the contours of its progression
the drops and the aircraft tracks
the lightning around it
the severity of the burned area, when computed

From €20.00 excl. VAT, six formats to choose from, link valid for 30 days.

Download the data

Pro subscribers: included. €49 excl. VAT a month, no commitment. The public map stays free. Discover GISFire Pro

© 2026 SARO · Gistin. All rights reserved. The interface, its presentation and the contents of GISFire are protected; reproducing or imitating them requires written permission. The source data remain the property of their respective producers, see the credits.

Legal notice · Privacy policy · · GISFire v2.4.2