Fire near Katanga (CD)

12.36°S, 29.49°E · first detected on 23 September at 12:53

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 23 September at 12:53 to 23 October at 01:18, that is at least 30 days: the clustering window stops there, and the fire or heat source may be older, through 943 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 18,148 ha.

Detected extent: 18,148 ha
Cumulative power: 10,694 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 164 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 943
Estimated emissions: 3.0 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
23 October at 01:18	0 MW	1	N20
22 October at 18:23	16 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 18:20	25 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 17:53	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 16:33	44 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 16:23	34 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 16:16	68 MW	3	Aqua
22 October at 16:03	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:53	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 15:43	31 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 15:33	27 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:53	35 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 14:33	44 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 14:10	79 MW	13	N20
22 October at 13:53	19 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 13:51	223 MW	19	N
22 October at 13:49	154 MW	2	Met9
22 October at 13:15	109 MW	18	N21
22 October at 13:13	112 MW	4	Met12
22 October at 13:03	20 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:53	33 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 12:33	15 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:23	18 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 12:03	21 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:53	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:43	14 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:23	17 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 11:03	23 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:43	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:33	10 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:23	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 10:13	30 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 10:03	29 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 09:53	12 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:43	11 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:19	32 MW	1	Met10
22 October at 09:19	36 MW	1	Met9
22 October at 09:13	13 MW	1	Met12
22 October at 09:04	139 MW	3	Met9
22 October at 09:04	90 MW	2	Met10
22 October at 09:03	41 MW	2	Met12
22 October at 08:53	125 MW	5	Met12
22 October at 08:49	325 MW	6	Met9
22 October at 08:49	254 MW	5	Met10
22 October at 08:43	35 MW	3	Met12
22 October at 08:42	53 MW	5	Terra
21 October at 16:03	11 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 15:53	42 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:40	8 MW	1	Aqua
21 October at 15:33	53 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 15:20	44 MW	1	Met9
21 October at 15:19	104 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 14:29	5 MW	1	N20
21 October at 14:10	32 MW	6	N
21 October at 13:33	17 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 13:32	32 MW	6	N21
21 October at 13:23	10 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 12:49	16 MW	2	N20
21 October at 11:33	21 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:23	21 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:19	46 MW	1	Met10
21 October at 11:13	42 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 11:04	107 MW	2	Met10
21 October at 11:04	149 MW	3	Met9
21 October at 11:03	67 MW	2	Met12
21 October at 10:43	13 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 10:03	20 MW	1	Met12
21 October at 09:43	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 15:13	35 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 14:53	20 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:33	17 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 14:27	37 MW	7	N
20 October at 13:53	14 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 13:51	57 MW	8	N21
20 October at 13:08	67 MW	9	N20
20 October at 13:03	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:53	23 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:33	12 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 12:23	94 MW	5	Met12
20 October at 12:03	20 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 11:53	15 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 08:23	11 MW	1	Met12
20 October at 08:13	33 MW	2	Met12
20 October at 08:03	11 MW	1	Met12
19 October at 16:01	10 MW	1	Aqua
19 October at 14:10	58 MW	10	N21
19 October at 13:25	37 MW	4	N20
19 October at 13:08	92 MW	7	N
19 October at 08:25	30 MW	4	Terra
18 October at 15:25	27 MW	1	Aqua
18 October at 14:29	203 MW	14	N21
18 October at 13:47	327 MW	22	N20
18 October at 13:25	93 MW	11	N
18 October at 12:49	61 MW	7	N21
18 October at 01:12	3 MW	3	N20
17 October at 14:04	45 MW	5	N20
17 October at 13:45	21 MW	4	N
17 October at 13:08	23 MW	3	N21
17 October at 08:44	27 MW	3	Terra
17 October at 01:29	2 MW	2	N20
17 October at 01:09	1 MW	1	N
16 October at 15:46	87 MW	4	Aqua
16 October at 14:22	40 MW	8	N20
16 October at 14:04	73 MW	8	N
16 October at 13:25	92 MW	11	N21
15 October at 14:21	56 MW	16	N
15 October at 13:47	158 MW	13	N21
15 October at 13:02	38 MW	7	N20
15 October at 01:48	0 MW	1	N
14 October at 14:40	102 MW	9	N
14 October at 14:04	222 MW	18	N21
14 October at 13:19	221 MW	22	N20
14 October at 13:00	306 MW	19	N
14 October at 08:25	6 MW	1	Terra
13 October at 14:21	9 MW	1	N21
13 October at 13:40	137 MW	16	N20
12 October at 20:58	13 MW	2	Terra
12 October at 13:02	107 MW	15	N21
11 October at 15:55	40 MW	4	Aqua
11 October at 14:17	77 MW	6	N20
11 October at 13:57	31 MW	5	N
11 October at 13:19	57 MW	6	N21
10 October at 14:36	36 MW	2	N20
10 October at 14:17	490 MW	8	N
10 October at 13:40	34 MW	6	N21
10 October at 12:56	77 MW	6	N20
10 October at 01:05	1 MW	1	N21
9 October at 13:57	8 MW	2	N21
9 October at 13:13	27 MW	5	N20
9 October at 08:27	41 MW	4	Terra
8 October at 14:17	33 MW	3	N21
8 October at 13:32	99 MW	12	N20
8 October at 13:15	143 MW	21	N
7 October at 13:51	71 MW	17	N20
7 October at 13:32	80 MW	11	N
7 October at 12:56	48 MW	6	N21
6 October at 14:10	5 MW	1	N20
6 October at 13:49	3 MW	1	N
6 October at 13:15	2 MW	1	N21
4 October at 13:08	19 MW	3	N20
3 October at 15:44	6 MW	1	Aqua
1 October at 16:08	24 MW	1	Aqua
1 October at 14:04	4 MW	1	N20
1 October at 13:45	4 MW	1	N
1 October at 13:08	13 MW	2	N21
1 October at 02:13	2 MW	2	N21
1 October at 01:29	2 MW	1	N20
1 October at 01:09	1 MW	1	N
1 October at 00:33	1 MW	1	N21
30 September at 14:04	143 MW	9	N
30 September at 13:25	126 MW	6	N21
30 September at 03:17	42 MW	4	Aqua
30 September at 01:48	10 MW	8	N20
30 September at 01:31	12 MW	9	N
30 September at 00:52	8 MW	3	N21
29 September at 20:41	6 MW	1	Terra
29 September at 14:21	77 MW	12	N
29 September at 13:47	220 MW	27	N21
29 September at 13:02	131 MW	20	N20
28 September at 15:53	45 MW	6	Aqua
28 September at 14:04	87 MW	5	N21
28 September at 13:19	90 MW	11	N20
28 September at 00:46	1 MW	1	N20
27 September at 21:02	7 MW	1	Terra
27 September at 14:23	142 MW	8	N21
27 September at 13:38	527 MW	33	N20
27 September at 13:19	228 MW	20	N
27 September at 12:41	116 MW	8	N21
26 September at 16:14	215 MW	5	Aqua
26 September at 13:57	1,148 MW	61	N20
26 September at 13:38	1,139 MW	85	N
26 September at 13:02	964 MW	92	N21
25 September at 15:36	185 MW	7	Aqua
25 September at 14:17	130 MW	18	N20
25 September at 13:57	142 MW	19	N
25 September at 13:19	244 MW	19	N21
24 September at 14:17	5 MW	1	N
24 September at 12:54	22 MW	3	N20

8 other fires near Katanga (CD)

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