Fire near Cabo Delgado (MZ)

12.84°S, 40.36°E · first detected on 23 September at 12:15

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 23 September at 12:15 to 22 October at 14:38, that is 29 days, through 701 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 10,280 ha.

Detected extent: 10,280 ha
Cumulative power: 5,274 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 114 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 701
Estimated emissions: 6.0 kt of carbon; Carbon burnt in the 0.1 degree cells (about 10 km) around the fire, from 5 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 30 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 15:53	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:43	27 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:35	51 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 15:33	30 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:23	46 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 15:13	31 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:05	86 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 15:03	72 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 14:53	43 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:50	24 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 14:43	32 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:38	126 MW	2	Aqua
22 October at 14:34	85 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 14:33	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:23	18 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 14:19	39 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:49	28 MW	3	N
22 October at 13:43	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:34	44 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:33	21 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:23	59 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 13:19	68 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 13:15	147 MW	11	N21
22 October at 13:13	58 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 13:04	44 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 13:03	23 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:53	51 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 12:49	45 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 12:43	21 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:30	57 MW	9	N20
22 October at 12:11	5 MW	1	N
22 October at 11:23	19 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:33	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:23	18 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:32	28 MW	5	N21
21 October at 13:23	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:47	69 MW	13	N20
21 October at 12:28	52 MW	13	N
21 October at 12:04	43 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:03	28 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:53	72 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 11:49	75 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 11:43	31 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:13	12 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 10:03	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:33	15 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:34	43 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 13:23	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:19	60 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 13:13	28 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:08	191 MW	15	N20
20 October at 13:04	116 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 13:03	52 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:49	56 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 12:47	111 MW	13	N
20 October at 12:43	15 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:11	33 MW	5	N21
20 October at 12:03	16 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:34	48 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 11:33	20 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:23	44 MW	2	Met12
19 October at 13:25	49 MW	8	N20
19 October at 13:06	88 MW	24	N
19 October at 12:30	131 MW	16	N21
18 October at 12:47	130 MW	20	N21
17 October at 12:24	3 MW	1	N20
16 October at 13:25	28 MW	8	N21
16 October at 12:41	43 MW	9	N20
16 October at 12:21	31 MW	8	N
15 October at 15:08	10 MW	1	Aqua
15 October at 13:45	26 MW	2	N21
15 October at 13:02	55 MW	10	N20
15 October at 12:43	71 MW	8	N
15 October at 12:04	11 MW	2	N21
15 October at 00:08	0 MW	1	N
14 October at 13:19	31 MW	8	N20
14 October at 13:00	61 MW	10	N
14 October at 12:24	35 MW	8	N21
12 October at 13:02	74 MW	15	N21
11 October at 13:19	48 MW	3	N21
11 October at 12:36	22 MW	6	N20
11 October at 12:15	4 MW	1	N
10 October at 15:14	25 MW	3	Aqua
10 October at 13:38	111 MW	11	N21
10 October at 12:53	116 MW	22	N20
10 October at 12:34	93 MW	16	N
10 October at 11:58	19 MW	3	N21
9 October at 13:13	62 MW	12	N20
9 October at 12:53	89 MW	18	N
9 October at 12:15	58 MW	10	N21
9 October at 00:40	1 MW	2	N20
8 October at 13:32	14 MW	4	N20
8 October at 13:13	57 MW	11	N
8 October at 12:36	55 MW	7	N21
7 October at 14:59	33 MW	3	Aqua
7 October at 13:49	50 MW	5	N20
7 October at 13:32	198 MW	15	N
7 October at 12:53	337 MW	40	N21
7 October at 12:11	74 MW	7	N20
6 October at 13:49	3 MW	1	N
6 October at 13:15	49 MW	6	N21
5 October at 13:32	41 MW	4	N21
5 October at 12:47	109 MW	13	N20
5 October at 12:28	124 MW	20	N
4 October at 13:08	19 MW	3	N20
3 October at 13:25	178 MW	19	N20
3 October at 13:06	72 MW	12	N
3 October at 12:30	160 MW	12	N21
2 October at 13:25	6 MW	1	N
2 October at 12:47	55 MW	3	N21
2 October at 12:04	90 MW	4	N20
1 October at 13:45	9 MW	2	N
1 October at 13:08	46 MW	9	N21
1 October at 12:21	24 MW	6	N20
1 October at 01:09	0 MW	1	N
1 October at 00:33	2 MW	2	N21
30 September at 15:29	48 MW	3	Aqua
30 September at 13:25	49 MW	10	N21
30 September at 12:41	105 MW	9	N20
30 September at 12:21	38 MW	9	N
29 September at 14:49	17 MW	1	Aqua
29 September at 13:45	16 MW	2	N21
29 September at 13:00	57 MW	16	N20
29 September at 12:43	59 MW	13	N
29 September at 12:04	15 MW	2	N21
29 September at 01:12	1 MW	2	N21
28 September at 13:19	23 MW	7	N20
28 September at 12:24	43 MW	4	N21
27 September at 15:12	39 MW	4	Aqua
27 September at 13:38	37 MW	5	N20
27 September at 13:17	30 MW	6	N
27 September at 12:41	42 MW	9	N21
26 September at 14:34	97 MW	2	Aqua
26 September at 13:38	69 MW	4	N
26 September at 13:02	40 MW	10	N21
26 September at 12:15	26 MW	4	N20
25 September at 13:19	20 MW	2	N21
25 September at 12:36	8 MW	3	N20
24 September at 14:57	41 MW	4	Aqua
24 September at 13:38	29 MW	5	N21
24 September at 12:53	45 MW	17	N20
24 September at 12:34	256 MW	10	N
24 September at 11:58	15 MW	1	N21

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.

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