Fire near Katavi (TZ)

6.00°S, 31.92°E · first detected on 6 September at 11:14

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 6 September at 11:14 to 6 September at 15:04, through 77 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 808 ha.

Detected extent: 808 ha
Cumulative power: 2,238 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 106 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 77

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 375 m pixel counts in full 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 and loads only its detections. The timeline below covers the whole known life of the fire, from the first trace, satellite or report, to the last announcement from emergency services, and the ticks on the bar mark those announcements. Detections often stop before containment: a fire stops radiating once it stops spreading, which is exactly when it is declared contained. “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. “12 h” stacks twelve hours , as the home map does, where stacking avoids an empty screen between two satellite passes. 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 3 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
7 September at 00:06	41 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 22:06	14 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 21:51	14 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 21:44	53 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 21:36	116 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 21:35	130 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 21:34	53 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 21:24	22 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 21:21	152 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 21:20	150 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 21:14	47 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 21:06	122 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 21:05	91 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 20:54	12 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 20:51	59 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 20:50	20 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 20:44	13 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 20:36	79 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 20:35	54 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 20:34	16 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 20:30	38 MW	4	Terra
6 September at 20:24	11 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 20:21	35 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 20:20	20 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 19:21	14 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 18:35	17 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 18:34	22 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 18:24	35 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 18:20	73 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 18:20	55 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 18:14	31 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:05	30 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 18:05	61 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 18:04	31 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:54	65 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 17:50	67 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 17:50	68 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 17:44	51 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 17:35	27 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 17:35	26 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 17:34	30 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:24	129 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 17:20	70 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 17:20	68 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 17:14	41 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:05	51 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 17:05	35 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 17:04	35 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 16:54	150 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 16:50	216 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 16:50	232 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 16:44	161 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 16:35	176 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 16:35	187 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 16:34	141 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 16:24	306 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 16:20	127 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 16:20	219 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 16:14	138 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 16:05	119 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 16:05	38 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 16:04	36 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:54	13 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 15:50	27 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 15:44	47 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:35	176 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 15:35	168 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 15:34	62 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 15:24	355 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 15:20	649 MW	8	Met9
6 September at 15:20	725 MW	6	Met10
6 September at 15:14	203 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 15:05	124 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 15:05	139 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 15:04	214 MW	4	Aqua
6 September at 15:04	48 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 14:54	500 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 14:50	263 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 14:50	329 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 14:44	101 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 14:35	790 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 14:35	744 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 14:34	632 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 14:24	120 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 14:20	192 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 14:20	362 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 14:14	475 MW	18	Met12
6 September at 14:05	181 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 14:05	272 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 14:04	143 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 13:54	302 MW	12	Met12
6 September at 13:50	589 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 13:50	660 MW	7	Met9
6 September at 13:44	542 MW	13	Met12
6 September at 13:35	479 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 13:35	352 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 13:34	470 MW	35	N20
6 September at 13:34	341 MW	9	Met12
6 September at 13:24	252 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 13:20	616 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 13:20	524 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 13:15	1,190 MW	47	N
6 September at 13:14	787 MW	12	Met12
6 September at 13:05	1,504 MW	9	Met9
6 September at 13:05	1,233 MW	5	Met10
6 September at 13:04	1,130 MW	12	Met12
6 September at 12:54	452 MW	11	Met12
6 September at 12:50	333 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 12:50	222 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:44	446 MW	9	Met12
6 September at 12:38	669 MW	20	N21
6 September at 12:35	760 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 12:35	1,024 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 12:34	835 MW	10	Met12
6 September at 12:24	125 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 12:20	602 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 12:20	322 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 12:14	121 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 12:05	83 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 12:04	74 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 11:54	148 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 11:50	185 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 11:50	178 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 11:44	224 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 11:35	762 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 11:35	1,180 MW	6	Met9
6 September at 11:34	943 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 11:24	138 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 11:14	111 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 02:18	5 MW	2	N
6 September at 01:39	4 MW	2	N21
6 September at 00:57	5 MW	3	N20
6 September at 00:37	2 MW	1	N

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