Fire near Katavi (TZ)

6.35°S, 32.22°E · first detected on 6 September at 00:37

What the satellites measured

This fire was tracked from 6 September at 00:37 to 6 September at 20:30, through 98 satellite detections. The detected extent reaches 1,276 ha.

Detected extent: 1,276 ha
Cumulative power: 1,373 MW
Peak power, one pixel: 81 MW
VIIRS and MODIS detections: 98

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
6 September at 20:34	13 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 20:30	33 MW	2	Terra
6 September at 20:24	35 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 20:21	19 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 20:14	12 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 20:04	11 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 19:51	58 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 19:50	41 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 19:44	42 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 19:36	111 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 19:35	52 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 19:34	44 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 19:24	40 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 19:21	85 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 19:20	44 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 19:14	15 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 19:06	28 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 18:54	13 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:50	23 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 18:44	18 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:35	21 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 18:34	11 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:24	16 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:20	46 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 18:20	32 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 18:14	14 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 18:05	46 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 18:04	24 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:54	34 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:50	47 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 17:50	30 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 17:44	59 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 17:35	53 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 17:35	40 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 17:34	57 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:24	198 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 17:20	220 MW	4	Met10
6 September at 17:20	209 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 17:14	35 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 17:05	197 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 17:05	159 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 17:04	79 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 16:54	72 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 16:50	148 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 16:50	183 MW	5	Met9
6 September at 16:44	16 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 16:35	32 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 16:35	57 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 16:20	85 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 16:20	38 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 16:05	66 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 16:05	74 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 15:50	89 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 15:50	122 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 15:35	116 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 15:35	174 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 15:20	135 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 15:20	184 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 15:14	143 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 15:05	158 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 15:05	210 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 15:04	200 MW	4	Aqua
6 September at 15:04	60 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 14:54	40 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 14:50	190 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 14:50	179 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 14:44	121 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 14:35	181 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 14:35	220 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 14:34	92 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 14:24	165 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 14:20	290 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 14:20	202 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 14:14	335 MW	9	Met12
6 September at 14:05	304 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 14:05	430 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 14:04	265 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 13:54	289 MW	10	Met12
6 September at 13:50	223 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 13:50	275 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 13:44	275 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 13:35	297 MW	4	Met9
6 September at 13:35	269 MW	3	Met10
6 September at 13:34	339 MW	31	N20
6 September at 13:34	171 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 13:24	168 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 13:20	201 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 13:20	165 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 13:15	190 MW	21	N
6 September at 13:14	83 MW	4	Met12
6 September at 13:05	218 MW	3	Met9
6 September at 13:05	161 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 13:04	111 MW	5	Met12
6 September at 12:54	136 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 12:50	138 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:50	133 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 12:44	268 MW	7	Met12
6 September at 12:38	590 MW	32	N21
6 September at 12:35	178 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:35	148 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 12:34	134 MW	6	Met12
6 September at 12:24	48 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 12:20	56 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 12:20	128 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 12:14	103 MW	3	Met12
6 September at 12:05	59 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 12:05	58 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 12:04	36 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 11:50	76 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 11:50	44 MW	1	Met10
6 September at 11:35	56 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 11:34	12 MW	1	Met12
6 September at 11:24	172 MW	8	Met12
6 September at 11:20	154 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 11:20	142 MW	2	Met9
6 September at 11:14	28 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 11:05	45 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 10:54	30 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:44	24 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:34	23 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:24	26 MW	2	Met12
6 September at 10:20	82 MW	2	Met10
6 September at 10:20	68 MW	1	Met9
6 September at 08:14	15 MW	1	Terra
6 September at 01:39	5 MW	3	N21
6 September at 00:57	3 MW	3	N20
6 September at 00:37	3 MW	2	N

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