Fire near Cabo Delgado (MZ)

12.85°S, 39.91°E · first detected on 23 September at 12:53

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 23 September at 12:53 to 22 October at 13:49, that is 29 days, through 1,278 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 24,684 ha.

Detected extent: 24,684 ha
Cumulative power: 10,670 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 139 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 1,278
Estimated emissions: 1.8 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 13:53	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:49	35 MW	7	N
22 October at 13:15	134 MW	17	N21
22 October at 12:34	72 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 12:34	103 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 12:33	62 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 12:30	62 MW	10	N20
22 October at 12:11	28 MW	2	N
22 October at 10:23	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:33	65 MW	4	Met12
21 October at 13:32	66 MW	9	N21
21 October at 12:47	101 MW	22	N20
21 October at 12:28	62 MW	15	N
21 October at 12:23	17 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:13	47 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 12:04	40 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 12:03	21 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:33	19 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:13	21 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 00:59	1 MW	1	N21
20 October at 16:13	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:53	27 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 15:05	28 MW	1	Met9
20 October at 15:01	45 MW	4	Aqua
20 October at 14:49	61 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 14:34	72 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 14:33	16 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:13	19 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:08	396 MW	45	N20
20 October at 12:53	100 MW	3	Met12
20 October at 12:49	74 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 12:47	320 MW	43	N
20 October at 12:43	33 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:23	58 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:13	45 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 12:11	168 MW	23	N21
20 October at 12:03	46 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 11:53	21 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:49	151 MW	2	Met9
20 October at 11:49	119 MW	1	Met10
20 October at 11:43	22 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:33	21 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 10:53	13 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 13:25	65 MW	8	N20
19 October at 13:06	234 MW	26	N
19 October at 12:30	211 MW	28	N21
18 October at 12:47	47 MW	8	N21
16 October at 13:25	36 MW	4	N21
16 October at 12:41	34 MW	4	N20
16 October at 12:21	18 MW	1	N
15 October at 15:08	29 MW	3	Aqua
15 October at 13:45	16 MW	3	N21
15 October at 13:02	254 MW	31	N20
15 October at 12:43	192 MW	17	N
15 October at 12:04	58 MW	4	N21
14 October at 13:19	134 MW	16	N20
14 October at 13:00	96 MW	15	N
14 October at 12:24	50 MW	9	N21
13 October at 15:29	91 MW	5	Aqua
13 October at 13:38	21 MW	6	N20
12 October at 13:02	109 MW	13	N21
11 October at 13:55	24 MW	4	N
11 October at 13:19	193 MW	24	N21
11 October at 12:36	242 MW	43	N20
11 October at 12:15	79 MW	10	N
11 October at 08:05	12 MW	1	Terra
10 October at 15:14	32 MW	3	Aqua
10 October at 13:38	45 MW	7	N21
10 October at 12:53	226 MW	22	N20
10 October at 12:34	135 MW	12	N
10 October at 11:58	20 MW	1	N21
9 October at 13:13	84 MW	4	N20
9 October at 12:53	86 MW	11	N
9 October at 12:15	3 MW	1	N21
8 October at 13:32	30 MW	5	N20
8 October at 13:13	146 MW	21	N
8 October at 12:36	68 MW	7	N21
7 October at 13:49	32 MW	5	N20
7 October at 13:32	69 MW	11	N
7 October at 12:53	274 MW	37	N21
6 October at 13:49	24 MW	4	N
6 October at 13:15	41 MW	6	N21
6 October at 12:30	56 MW	4	N20
5 October at 15:21	18 MW	2	Aqua
5 October at 13:32	2 MW	1	N21
5 October at 12:47	58 MW	7	N20
5 October at 12:28	34 MW	7	N
4 October at 13:08	21 MW	2	N20
4 October at 12:47	21 MW	3	N
4 October at 12:11	5 MW	1	N21
3 October at 13:25	52 MW	6	N20
3 October at 13:06	78 MW	15	N
3 October at 12:30	66 MW	10	N21
2 October at 15:06	6 MW	1	Aqua
2 October at 13:45	6 MW	2	N20
2 October at 13:25	29 MW	3	N
2 October at 12:47	34 MW	6	N21
2 October at 00:52	1 MW	2	N
1 October at 13:45	9 MW	1	N
1 October at 13:08	100 MW	7	N21
1 October at 12:21	52 MW	8	N20
1 October at 00:33	0 MW	1	N21
30 September at 12:41	19 MW	4	N20
30 September at 12:21	4 MW	1	N
29 September at 14:49	42 MW	2	Aqua
29 September at 13:45	20 MW	1	N21
29 September at 13:00	246 MW	26	N20
29 September at 12:43	210 MW	19	N
29 September at 12:04	17 MW	2	N21
28 September at 13:19	109 MW	17	N20
28 September at 12:24	92 MW	9	N21
27 September at 13:38	28 MW	6	N20
27 September at 13:17	135 MW	18	N
27 September at 12:41	145 MW	12	N21
26 September at 13:55	7 MW	1	N20
26 September at 13:38	59 MW	6	N
26 September at 13:02	131 MW	13	N21
26 September at 12:15	59 MW	6	N20
25 September at 13:19	56 MW	10	N21
25 September at 12:36	98 MW	14	N20
25 September at 12:15	23 MW	3	N
24 September at 14:57	103 MW	3	Aqua
24 September at 13:38	149 MW	12	N21
24 September at 12:53	74 MW	19	N20
24 September at 12:34	22 MW	2	N

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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